Shinobi, Aliens, and a Blonde Maelstrom
by Never Ending Dawn
Summary: The introduction of Shinobi to the galaxy becomes a catalyst for change, with a certain blonde Maelstrom in the center of it along with the crew of the Normandy.
1. First Contact

**Yo, this is a new story i've written. The idea has been running through my head for a while, so i decided to give it a go. It starts during Mass Effect 1. Almost every Mass Effect/Naruto story starts during Mass Effect 2. I don't get it. Oh well. Hope you enjoy.**

**P.S. The viewpoint will be switching between Naruto and Shepard.**

Jane Shepard was getting annoyed with her team. She finally snapped, "Okay, I get it. I don't want to be here either, but the council gave me an order. With no current leads on Saren, I don't have a choice on whether to do this or not. So will you please stop complaining and just help me do this so we can go back to searching for Saren." The shuttle they were using went quiet following her outburst. Liara immediately started to look contrite, but Garrus turned his head away. Shepard could practically feel his frustration about to boil over into full blown anger. Shepard sighed before continuing, "Look, I'm sorry. I get what you guys are saying. I want to go after Saren as much as you, but, as a Spectre, I have to listen to the Council. Let's just check this planet out as quickly as possible, and get back to chasing Saren."

Garrus sighed before nodding and muttering, "Okay, commander. I'm just frustrated that even a Spectre seems unable to do anything without having the council hamper it."

Shepard nodded before muttering, "I know. I feel the same way."

Shepard put leaned against the wall as she felt her ship shake slightly as they approached the atmosphere of the unknown garden world that she was tasked with exploring. The council had sent the message two days ago. An Asari probe being sent to unexplored star systems had found a perfect garden world in a star system which was being referred to as the 'Shinno System.' Unfortunately, the probe scans revealed extensive life forms. With the chance of advanced life forms being so high, Shepard had been directed to explore the planet. Depending on what she found, the future of the planet could be determined. If no intelligent life was found, the planet would immediately be included on a list of colonization prospects. If life was found, well…that would get complicated.

As if in response to her thoughts, the ship suddenly jumped and everything turned off. With the mass effect field and boosters off, they immediately started a free fall. Shepard clutched the seat for a handhold and barely heard Liara exclaim, "The ship hit an electromagnetic field. Trying to reboot the systems. Main engines not responding. Engaging emergency systems. Prepare for impact."

Shepard said the only thing a normal person could say, "Fuck!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x

Naruto felt calm. The nature chakra was flowing through his body in a comforting flow, combining with his normal chakra to enhance his body. He knew that his eyes would currently be colored to indicate his Sage Mode. Yet the calmness superseded himself. Nature was around him. Everything was functioning in complete order. It was so completely relaxing to feel at one with nature, where everything performed a purpose.

His calmness was ruined though when he felt an ominous feeling of impending doom settle in his stomach. Naruto opened his eyes and looked around to check for danger, despite being able to sense everything for miles around. He quickly confirmed that there was nothing around to threaten him, but the feeling only intensified in his stomach. Naruto slowly rose out of the meditating position he had been in before, and prepared to confront any threat to appear. He remained perfectly still, every muscle tensed to react for several seconds as the feeling continued to grow.

He sensed it right on the edge of his sensing ability. His head snapped up and looked upon a giant projectile heading towards him at an insane speed. His complete astonishment froze him for just a moment, but it was enough for the speeding asteroid to close the distance. Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the metal meteor about to hit him. Even he couldn't dodge it at such a close range. That was the last thing he thought before he was hit.

The massive asteroid ripped a large furrow through the forest as it slowly came to a stop. It left a smoking trail of torn earth and trees in its path. It came to a stop after almost a hundred meters. Once it stopped, complete silence reigned.

It lasted almost three minutes before the door to the shuttle opened. The door slid open to reveal a trio. The one in the center was clutching her head as she exclaimed, "God damn that hurt. That's why I wanted to take the Mako. It handles the impact far better."

Another one of them, a beautiful blue woman immediately replied, "The Mako wouldn't have handled it any better. The only reason we even survived was because the emergency systems managed to slow our descent at the last second."

The first woman replied in an annoyed manner, "Well, we're still banged up. I think several of my ribs are broken. We're going to have to message Joker to come pick us up once the connection clears up. Until then, lets get the first aid an-what the!"

She was cut off after the remains of their shuttle started to shake. The three tipped back into the shuttle right before the shaking turned into something more serious. The shuttle flew into the air to reveal a dirt covered Naruto. His clothes were completely shredded, revealing his skin which had turned dark brown. His eyes had the typical bar pupil which signified his Sage Mode, and the entire eyes, iris and the usual whites of his eyes had turned red with the usual tomoe filled rings of when he accessed the chakra of the Ten-Tails.

As the shuttle crashed back into the earth well over twenty feet away from Naruto, he pointed at it and yelled, "What the hell was that? I almost died!" Which was true. It was only due to him instinctively acting that he had survived. He had used Kakazu's technique of Earth Grudge Spear to harden his skin to that of stone or metal, and he had harnessed the power of the Ten-Tails that the Tailed Beasts had bestowed upon him years ago. That atop his already active Sage Mode had basically made Naruto as indestructible as they come, and it had barely been enough. Apparently several tons of metal crashing into you at several hundred miles an hour was dangerous. Who knew?

Naruto stopped fuming and raised his head as he sensed life within the metal. Almost at the same point, he heard a groan coming from it. He hesitated for only a moment before leaping into the opening of the asteroid/ship. He peaked in and saw an unconscious trio laying on the floor, no doubt losing consciousness when he threw it.

Naruto immediately acted to help them. He released his Tailed Beast chakra and the earth technique before creating several clones. The clones jumped in and grabbed the three people and carried them outside. The clones laid them on the ground nearby before going into the forest to get wood for a fire. The original Naruto took the opportunity to examine the three people who had ridden in the thing that almost killed him.

He'll start by describing the normal one first. It was a woman. She looked to be several years older than him. She had red hair that barely reached her eyes in the front, but was about shoulder length in the back. She was wearing a black and red armor suit with N7 on the front.

The next one was a little harder to describe. It was another woman, he thought. The problem was that she was blue though, and instead of hair, had weird tentacle. The white and pink suit she was wearing clearly showed she had breasts. So he categorized her as a woman.

The third one was possibly weirdest of all. It's face was a weird lizard-bird hybrid. A carapace covered the front, and it had mandible things around its mouth. Other than that, its waist was thinner than any human's could, and it only had three fingers per hands. One thumb and two fingers, all of which had claws on the end. This one was wearing a black and blue armor.

Naruto noticed that all three were injured. The lizard thing looked to have a wound in its side, and a quick scan showed that the human had several broken ribs. Although the blue woman was too confusing to be precise, she also looked to have several injuries. Naruto scratched his head as he prepared to start working on them. He was interrupted though when the human looking woman's arm was covered in a orange apparatus. A voice started speaking. Naruto couldn't understand what was being said, but he distinctively heard 'Shepard.'

Naruto slowly approached and lifted up the woman's arm so that Naruto's mouth was by the orange tool. Figuring it was like a radio, Naruto spoke into it, "Hello, is anyone there? Can you understand me?"

The tool started beeping for several seconds before suddenly Naruto could understand the voice on the other end, "Commander, come in. Shepard, please answer. Our scans show your ship crashed. Please report condition. Shepard, come in."

Naruto spoke again, "Hello. I think your 'Shepard' is unconscious right now. Her life doesn't seem to be in danger though."

The link went silent for several moments before the same voice spoke with surprise clear in his voice, "Who is this?"

Naruto scratched his head as he answered, "I'm Naruto."

The voice continued to speak in astonishment, "Are you a native? The Omni-tool records show that your language hasn't been recorded before."

Naruto scratched his head again before saying, "I think so. Your metal ship thing hit me, and when I checked it out, I found the three passengers unconscious."

The voice immediately repeated incredulously, "The ship hit you! Never mind. I'm not sure what to say to a newly discovered intelligent species…I'm Joker, pilot of the SSV Normandy…What's up?"

Naruto sweat dropped as he replied, "I was almost killed by a hunk of metal falling from the sky. What do you think?" When Joker gave an uneasy laugh, Naruto continued, "Listen. I have no idea what's going on. You clearly have no idea how to explain it to me. I'll take care of whatever these people are. Hopefully they can tell me what the hell is going on? Bye." Naruto dropped the unconscious woman's arm and prepared to start taking care of them.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxx

Jane Shepard tossed her head as she felt the pain of her ribs greet her as she gained consciousness, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it should be. A dull ache where it should be agony. Finally remembering what had happened before she fell unconscious, she sat up quickly and pulled out a handgun. She pointed it in front of her as she tried to get her bearings. Her eyes moved through the trees surrounding her as she looked for any threats. Seeing none, she examined her surroundings closer. She had been laid on a blanket surrounding a fire. Garrus and Liara were on either side of her, still unconscious.

Realizing her situation, she immediately used her Omni-Tool to contact Joker. She reported, "Normandy, this is Shepard. Repeat. Normandy, this is Commander Shepard. Shuttle crashed, and team unconscious. Evidence indicate natives found us. Request immediately evacuation and support."

The response only took a second to arrive. Shepard had never been so glad to hear Joker's voice. "Commander. Good to hear from you. You've been unconscious for half a day. Unfortunately, evacuation will have to wait."

Shepard immediately questioned, "Why?"

"The electromagnetic field around the planet which caused your shuttle to crash. It's weird, captain. Initial scans didn't pick it up, but it is strong enough to do the same to any ship we send down there. We're trying to reprogram the Mako to take it, but it might take up to a week, commander."

Shepard responded as her eyes continued to scan the surroundings for any life, "That is unacceptable. Something found us here. Liara and Garrus are out, and the natives might return any second."

Joker paused before explaining nervously, "I don't think that's a problem, commander. When you were out, I was trying to contact you. One of the natives picked up."

Shepard's eyes widened as she questioned, "What? What did it say?"

"Nothing much, commander. He said his name is Naruto, well I think it's a he. Anyways, he said he was going to take care of you guys while you were out. I think he's friendly. I already sent a message to the council about it," Joker claimed.

Shepard prepared to respond, but was cut off when a voice behind her announced, "Relax. I'm not going to eat you. If I wanted you dead, you would be."

Shepard spun around and pointed her gun towards the voice. Her eyes widened as she looked at the person. He looked human. Well, there were some differences, but she could easily believe the person was human. His hair was a bright blond, and while it was spiky, the back was tied into a ponytail that reached about to the top of the man's bottom. The bangs partially covered his ambidextrous eyes. The right was a deep cerulean blue, and the left was a violet color. He also had weird markings on his cheeks, like whiskers. Otherwise, he seemed completely normal. He was about six feet tall with the figure of an athlete. He was dressed in a bluish-gray long sleeve shirt with red swirls on both shoulders. His pants were the same color, but had multiple pockets. His shoes looked to be black sandals. He also wore gray fingerless gloves. In his hand, he had a line of fish.

The person's eyes narrowed, and then moved. Shepard wasn't really sure what happened, but the next thing she knew, she was on the ground. She blinked several times only to see the person standing over her, her gun in his hands.

He examined it for a moment before stating, "While I'm not sure what this thing is, your bearing seems to indicate that it is a weapon of some sort. As I already stated, if I wanted you dead, you'd be dead. So I don't want you pointing a weapon at me."

Then to her shock, he tossed the gun back to her. As she grabbed it, she saw him watching her. She hesitated a moment before putting it away. She didn't want to make him her enemy. That she could tell.

The man nodded before walking to the other end of the fire. He sat down and calmly started to skin the fish. Shepard waited a minute before she opened her mouth to ask something. Before she could though, the person spoke, "Not right now. I healed the three of you the best I could. You're awake first because I haven't ever seen whatever those things are, so I couldn't risk messing with their wounds too much. They should be awake soon though. I'd rather we wait till they're awake to start asking each other questions." Despite the questions running through her minds, she nodded.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxx

The other two of them started stirring right as the fish was about to finish. The woman quickly started tending to them, thankfully breaking her unrelenting stare she had fixed him with. The blue woman seemed confused, but quickly calmed down. The other thing not so much. He also pulled out a gun and cast many suspicious looks in Naruto's directions as the woman spoke to it.

Naruto forced himself to stay calm though. He continued to cook the fish till it was ready. He then handed them to the three. The two woman scanned it with the orange tools on their arms before slowly starting to eat, trying to hide their discomfort with eating with their hands. The other thing just put it on the ground after scanning it and pulled out a package of stuff, which it proceeded to eat. Naruto held in his curiosity as he ate his own fish. Once he finished and saw that the two woman seemed to have stopped eating after a few bites, he prepared to speak.

Finally he asked, "Since you are all awake now, let's talk." Naruto held up a hand to stop the first woman from speaking, Naruto continued, "I believe I have a right to get answers first since I cared for you after your ship thing almost killed me. So, who the hell are you, and what are those two?"

The first woman thought for a moment before answering slowly, "I am Commander Jane Shepard." She pointed to the blue woman and continued, "This is Liara T'Soni." The other thing, "And this is Garrus Vakarian."

She waited a moment before continuing, "We are part of a Galactic civilization. A society of multiple sentient races who have achieved space flight. This includes the Asari," pointing at Liara, "the Turians," pointed at Garrus, "And Humans." She pointed to herself. She continued, "There are many others, but it is difficult to describe them all. Basically, an Asari probe found this planet. I was sent with my ship to scout it out."

Naruto nodded as he thought. A galactic civilization. It was a lot to take in. He finally asked, "And what happens now that you know this planet is occupied?"

Shepard responded immediately, "That would depend on the level of this species' technology, but you will probably be brought into the galactic community."

Naruto nodded once again. He thought for a moment before asking, "I don't suppose that you can just leave and pretend this planet doesn't exist, huh?"

The three were in shock for several moments before the woman asked in a completely shocked tone, "What?"

Naruto just raised an eyebrow at them before explaining, "You know what I mean. Is it possible that this planet can stay out of your galactic community?"

The woman once again seemed too shocked to come up with an intelligent response, so only asked, "Why?"

Naruto just gave a heavy sigh before fixing them with a stare and explaining, "This planet has been embroiled in wars for as long as anyone can remember. Just three years ago, everyone came together, forgetting their hatred and differences, to confront a threat that threatened the freedom of every living thing on this planet. We prevailed. We have achieved a true peace, but it is a fragile peace that could still crumble after this generation. The revelation of a galactic community and our subsequent immersion in it could spell disaster for the peace everyone has sacrificed to achieve."

The human and Turian just looked confused, but the Asari looked interested. The human responded, "I'm sorry, but Joker told me that he already sent a report to the council informing them of intelligent life on this planet. Anything we find out would just add to the report. They would still send several other ambassadors here, regardless of what more I sent."

Naruto sighed and leaned back to look at the slowly darkening sky. This could put everything at jeopardy. Oh well, it was too late to try and prevent it. Naruto looked at the trio again before motioning, "Okay, I've got a lot to think about. Please ask any questions you want to before night falls. Although I treated your wounds to the best of my ability, a good night sleep is still a good idea."

The three nodded, and with the apparent invitation, Liara immediately questioned, "What form of government does this planet use, and how did it come about?"

Naruto nodded before answering, "Officially, the land is split into multiple nations which are all headed by a civilian daimyo. In reality though, ninja's rule."

The Turian quickly asked, "Ninja's. Like the dudes wearing black and performing assassinations."

Naruto shrugged before clarifying, "Even though they're called ninja's, they don't usually fit that description. Basically they are warriors. We do quite a bit of sneaking and assassination, but most prefer to fight face to face."

Shepard was the one who questioned, "You just said 'we.' So are you a ninjas."

Naruto just nodded and said, "Yes, I am. Anyways, ninja's truly rule the land. Ninja's are part of Ninja villages. Although there are many spread throughout the land, five villages, called the Five Great Shinobi Villages, hold the most ninjas and power. Each of these villages is headed by a powerful ninja, called a 'kage.' Each village is located in a nation, and in return for funding from the daimyo, agrees to protect the country and follow any direct orders of the daimyo."

Liara quickly asked, "So why do you say that ninjas really rule if they follow the orders of the daimyos?"

Naruto nodded in understanding before elaborating, "That was the original agreement. That agreement was made about a century ago when ninjas were separated into warring clans. After the establishment of the ninja villages, much of the violence between ninjas lessened. Ninjas quickly grew in power, while samurais, the soldiers of the daimyos, weakened in power. Eventually ninjas were the only real armies of nations. The only way the daimyos controlled the ninjas was due to the funding they provided, but even that lessened as ninja villages started performing services for those willing to pay. It was only due to the intense conflict between the villages that daimyos even had a measure of control. The ninja villages stayed militarized even in peacetime, and lead sabotage and espionage missions against the other villages. They needed the money of the daimyo, but the daimyos didn't really have much power over the ninja villages anymore. In essence, they became figureheads, and that was about ten years ago."

Naruto looked at the three of them to make sure they understood before continuing, "So even ten years ago the daimyos had basically no real power. Then came the war three years ago. To cut things short, all the ninja villages united and managed to defeat a man who wanted to enslave the entire world. We succeeded in that, and the bonds we made during the war have persisted. Relative peace has followed, along with a demilitarization of all the villages. Without the threat of each other, each of the ninja villages have lost any real need for the funding of the daimyos."

Shepard was the one who now asked a question, "You said someone wanted to enslave the entire planet. How would he do this? You didn't even recognize my gun earlier. I really doubt you have any weapon which could be capable of taking over an entire planet?"

Garrus replied in a surprised tone, "They haven't even developed guns yet. This must be a really primitive civilization." Liara seemed slightly disappointed at that.

Naruto developed a tick mark on his forehead after hearing that. He looked at Shepard and commented, "So that was a weapon earlier. Well there is actually a perfectly reasonable explanation on why we wouldn't have developed something like that. Our warfare isn't based around technology. If any village had tried to develop weapons like that, the other villages would have done everything in their power to stop it. What technology I've seen is rather spaced out and exclusive. Spring Country has trains, heat generators, and several other things. Sky Country developed flying machines. The only widespread form of technology I've seen though is medical. There are complex processes we are capable of. The most complex I've seen would be gene manipulation, genetic recording, and vaccine creation."

Liara quickly started muttering to yourself, "Amazing. Limited combat oriented technology. Industrial age transportation, but highly advanced medical sophistication. For an apparently warlike situation, that is unheard of. I'd expect the complete opposite based on similar cultures like the Krogan or Turians."

As Liara continued to mutter to herself, Garrus asked, "You said that warfare isn't based on technology. So what is it based on? Considering your other technology, I seriously doubt you use bronze weapons or anything?"

Naruto hesitated here. Using his Sage Mode, he had been able to sense that these aliens were entirely absent of chakra. They even lacked the sealed chakra system that civilians did. However, he did sense that Shepard and Liara had a different form of energy that seemed to be generated from certain nodules within the body. It was rough and uncoordinated though, with the Asari having better control. Just from that Naruto could tell that it was far inferior to chakra. If he had judged their intentions wrongly, and their galactic civilization was intending to attack, explaining what chakra was could have far reaching consequences. Oh well, he seriously doubted he had judged them wrong. Between his telepathy abilities from the Ten-Tails, and his own gut, he was about as sure as anyone could be.

Naruto held out his hand and created a weak Rasengan, which glowed in the encroaching darkness of night. As the three looked at it in awe, Naruto explained, "Ninjas and samurais harness an energy called chakra. Chakra is the combination of physical energy, taken from every cell in the body, and spiritual energy, taken from one's mind which is strengthened through experience and meditation. Using chakra, we can perform many supernatural feats, from super strength to walking on water."

The two women immediately started scanning the Rasengan with those orange tools while the Turian scoffed and exclaimed sarcastically, "Are you joking? You really expect us to believe you can walk on water. That just looks like biotics."

Naruto just raised an eyebrow and claimed, "And a whole lot more than that."

Before Garrus could reply, Liara exclaimed, "Goddess. The readings are amazing. No Mass Effect field, no indication of Eezo, no spatial distortion. It even has mass. I've never seen anything like this, even in the Asari Archives."

Naruto shrugged before admitting, "While I have no idea what you just said, I'll even give a demonstration." Naruto stood and started walking towards a tree. Naruto mentally smirked as the group gawked as he walked up the side of the tree till he was hanging upside down from a branch. Now he felt what it was like showing this to a group of genin.

Chuckling to himself, Naruto jumped and flipped in the air to land on his feet. He then announced, "Okay, that's enough questions for now. You guys should get to sleep. Since your ship is destroyed, I assume you're here for a while. Considering you are basically representatives of the entire galactic civilization, I'll take you to Konoha. It's the nearest major Hidden Village. You can talk to the five kages there."

Shepard nodded before asking, "How long will it take to get there?"

Naruto thought for a moment before stating, "At civilian speed, about a week and a half."

Shepard blinked for a moment before exclaiming, "I'm sorry, but we don't have that much time. Is there anywhere closer?"

Naruto shrugged before claiming in a light hearted manner, "No, but I guess I can speed it up. You'll have to deal with the uncomfortable ride though. Just go to sleep."

She looked like she wanted to ask something, but eventually acceded. The trio started to uncomfortably settle onto the blankets he had given them. He watched them settle down. He made no move to settle himself down. Since gaining the power of the Ten-Tails, combined with his natural Uzumaki vitality, he hadn't had the need to sleep as often as before. He only needed to sleep maybe two or three hours every several days, and that was about the maximum amount he could sleep. Ninjas were trained to manage on little sleep, but performance gradually decreased. It took at least two weeks without sleep for Naruto to even feel it anymore. It was actually quite annoying. Oh well, Naruto settled himself down to prepare to watch over the sleeping trio.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxx

As the sun started peeking over the horizon, Shepard stirred. She sat up and looked around in slight confusion before remembering what had happened the previous evening. She sat up, and blinked when she didn't feel any pain from her ribs. She gently felt them, but there still wasn't any pain. She shook away her confusion and activated her Omni-Tool.

She quickly started constructing a report of all they had learned about the natives of this planet, and her immediate plans. She sent it to Joker, who would then send it to the Council. As soon as she deactivated her Omni-Tool, a voice spoke up, causing her to jump.

"You realize it's rude to report on someone when they are present, right?"

Shepard turned to look at Naruto. She jumped again when she saw how close he was. He was crouching within feet of her. She felt her face heat up at her reaction to him. She stood up stiffly, firmly ignoring his amused face. She then cleared her throat before asking him, "So when do you think we should set out?"

Naruto shrugged before nodding at the other two a before clarifying, "Whenever they wake up. I can get you to Konoha within several hours. You'll have a better meal there, and a proper medic to look at any remaining wounds you have. I've only picked up a few things here and there, so I'm hardly what you call an expert. The Turian especially. Since I didn't know his physiology, I just bandaged his wound."

Shepard nodded before she started looking around the area while she waited for Liara and Garrus to wake up. She paused and looked at one of the trees. It looked a lot like the pictures she had seen of trees on earth. Although it was hardly surprising. The atmosphere was similar enough for her to breath, the planet was of a similar size to earth, and had similar temperature. For all intents and purposes, this was basically a second earth. The only real difference preliminary scans had shown was high levels of an unknown radiation emitting from the planet. Although they had basically no information on this radiation, what they did have told them that it wasn't harmful. Maybe that was the reason for this species incredible powers. Although she was disturbed by the human appearance of Naruto. No matter how similar to earth, it was impossible that his species could just naturally be that human like.

She was interrupted from her thoughts when she saw that Liara and Garrus were stirring. She quickly explained the plan, and within moments the group was ready. Shepard turned to Naruto and asked, "So how can we get to this 'Konoha' so quickly? Do you have a vehicle nearby?"

Naruto just gave an amused smirk which made Shepard slightly annoyed before he replied, "Of a sort." Naruto ignored her confusion and proceeded to bite his thumb. He then made some weird signs with his hands and then slammed him down on the ground. Shepard practically had a heart attack when an explosion of smoke happened. She jumped back and tried to blow the smoke out of her face, but froze when she heard a loud voice.

"Yo, Bro. Been a long time since you summoned me. What do you need?"

Shepard's jaw dropped as the smoke cleared to show Naruto standing on top of a frog that must be at least twenty feet tall. It was orange with several purple markings. Not to mention it was also the one who spoke. Shepard watched as Naruto patted the frog's head and told it, "Yeah, sorry about that. Been a while since I needed any of the toads help. Anyways, you see those three?"

The apparent toad looked at Shepard now and leaned down to examine them closer. Finally it yelled, "While I'm fine with the two hot chicks, what is the other thing? Some experiment by Orochimaru to mix a lizard with a human or something?." Shepard and Liara had to hold in their chuckles at the look on Garrus' face.

Naruto just chuckled before declaring brazenly, "Nope. Their aliens. Their ship fell out of the sky yesterday and almost killed me?"

Somehow the toad managed to give a skeptical look to Naruto, who was perched on his head, before asking, "Aliens! Really? I thought that was just some fairy tail."

Naruto shrugged before replying, "I know, but they are aliens. The ship is just over that way a bit, although it's basically just a hunk of metal now."

The toad went silent for a moment before suddenly exclaiming excitedly, "Sweet. Things have been so boring lately. It's just like you to find something like this to make things more interesting. I can't believe you even went for three years without getting into some sort of trouble."

Naruto just chuckled before explaining, "Well they need to get to one of the hidden villages. Konoha is the closest, and they want to hurry. Think you can give them a ride. I'll run along side you."

Gamakichi nodded before claiming, "Sure, I could use some exercise, but it will be an uncomfortable ride if they can't use chakra to keep from flying off."

Naruto gave an evil smirk before saying, "Don't worry. That's their problem."

Four hours later, when Gamakichi stopped his hopping, Shepard slipped off his back to land on the ground heavily. She didn't care at all about appearances or the fact that she was an elite agent. All she cared about was having solid ground under her. She distinctly heard Garrus and Liara fall down next to him.

Then she heard an infuriating sound. The amused laugh of Naruto, who then spoke, "Well you guys are the ones that needed to hurry. Don't tell me a little rough travel is too much for you."

Garrus quickly groaned, "Great. He's sadistic."

His response was another laugh before Naruto claimed, "I'm not sadistic. I have just developed an enjoyment of watching people be in a certain amount of pain."

Liara was the one who replied in a groan, "That is the meaning of sadism."

Naruto gave yet another laugh before he exclaimed, "I know, but considering how I used to act, I doubt anyone else could believe I have a sadistic bone in my body. So keep it a secret."

Before they could reply, Shepard saw several …clones of Naruto pop into existence. When she was frozen, the three clones all walked up to each of them on the floor and put glowing green hands over their bodies. Shepard let out half a moan before she clamped her mouth shut with her face heating up again. She couldn't believe she just moaned out loud, but one could hardly blame her. Whatever he was doing, it felt good. All the pain left to leave a pleasurable tingling sensation. She heard Liara give a short moan also, but Garrus actually started grumbled about it feeling weird.

The Naruto clone disappeared, and with it the pleasant sensation. With it gone, Shepard felt all the bruises that had developed and the motion sickness disappear. She stood up slowly before looking at Naruto in confusion before asking, "Okay, what was that?"

Naruto just waved a hand and replied briefly, "A healing jutsu. It's nothing." Shepard was about to demand more of an explanation, but stopped when she saw the thinking expression on Naruto's face. She asked, "What's wrong?"

Naruto replied without any consideration, "The jutsu made you and Liara aroused." Shepard and Liara immediately blushed before both denied it immediately. Naruto didn't seem to hear them. He just closed his eyes and took a thinking pose. Finally the two of them quieted down. Naruto immediately opened his eyes and fixed them with a stare so intense both of them couldn't interrupt him as he spoke, "You were, but it isn't something to be ashamed about. It seems to be an unintended consequence of my chakra being injected into you. Every living thing on this planet has chakra to some degree. While a healing jutsu isn't painful to us, we are able to feel the intrusion into our chakra network. Although the pain leaving is nice, there is a distinctly uncomfortable feeling to it. Your bodies reacted differently. Since you don't have chakra, it…changed how the chakra reacted. It still performed its purpose, but only because I controlled it to do it. If I had faltered in my control though…well I can't guess what would happen. Just the residual effects made you feel enough pleasure to actually become aroused, I don't want to see what would happen if I injected unrefined chakra into you. Might cause your mind to break from pleasure or may even disintegrate your flesh it touches. Healing chakra specifically heals, regular chakra can just as easily destroy."

Shepard didn't quite understand all of what he meant considering she still didn't quite understand what chakra was, but she did manage to ask, "What does that mean?"

Naruto just looked at her before stating, "It means that it isn't a good idea for me to use anymore healing jutsu on you. In fact, I think only Tsunade-baachan should be able to. She might be able to explain what is happening. I'm not really a medic, so I'm just not suited for figuring this out."

Shepard decided to get away from the topic of him somehow arousing her by asking, "So are we near Konoha?"

Naruto nodded before claiming, "Not even half a mile away. I don't usually ride a toad into the village itself cause civilians get excited. It should only take us a minute to reach the gate. I already warned Tsunade that we will be arriving."

Shepard frowned before asking, "How? I didn't see you pull out a radio or anything."

Naruto lifted up his sleeve to show a tattoo on his right shoulder. It was a weird symbol she didn't understand. Naruto explained though, "This is called fuinjutsu. The art of sealing. This symbol is made up of dozens of small seals. I pumped chakra into it when you dropped of Gamakichi. The five 'kages' are the only ones with the same seal. Theirs will have burned when I activated mine. It is a message that I'll summon them in an hour for a meeting. They are also able to feel their relative distance from me. Tsunade-baachan will be able to tell were nearby. Now come on, let's get to the gate. It will be in view in a minute" He then rather firmly ignored Liara who tried to ask him more questions about this 'fuinjutsu.'

True to his word, the trees ended to show a huge gate moments later. Shepard was amazed by the sight of the gate. It must have stood at least a hundred feet tall, and was flanked by a stone wall of the same side. Naruto didn't stop walking, leaving them behind slightly. She walked slightly faster to catch up as she saw Naruto approaching the guards.

One of the guards immediately raised a hand in greeting before saying, "Naruto, good to see you again."

Naruto just smiled before exclaiming, "It's good to be back. Not a surprise though that you two are still on gate duty."

The guards laughed, but before they could reply, several figures appeared. Shepard jumped back as the people wearing masks appeared literally out of nowhere. Naruto didn't seem surprised though and waited till the lead figure announced, "Uzumaki. We are to welcome you to Konoha and express the wishes of the Hokage that you meet with her immediately."

Naruto nodded before answering, "Of course. Tell her I'll be there in ten minutes." The figures nodded before disappearing once again.

Shepard asked in shock, "Did you guys just see that?"

Garrus nodded and fiddled with his head gear before saying, "Yep, but I almost can't believe it. I slowed it down. It wasn't teleportation. They just moved at a speed our eyes couldn't detect or follow. Shepard…"

Shepard gulped before asking, "Yes?"

Garrus responded, "I think we don't even understand what sort of force we unleashed on the galaxy, and how much this might affect the future."

Shepard nodded and sighed as she admitted sadly, "I know."

Their discussion was interrupted by Naruto who yelled from twenty feet away, "Hey, come on." Naruto motioned for them to follow him.

Shepard waited till they were past the gate before asking, "Why did they know you? They talked as if you were friends."

Naruto turned to her before nodding, "Yeah, they know me. Kotetsu and Izumo. They're good guys. We know each other because Konoha was my village. I was born here, raised here, and fought for here."

It was Garrus who asked, "Why the past tense?"

Naruto shrugged before replying briefly, "Because Konoha isn't my village anymore."

The three quickly sensed this was a subject Naruto didn't want to elaborate on. The three turned their attention to their surroundings. Liara looked the most excited, but even Shepard and Garrus couldn't deny how interesting the 'village' was. The entire village seemed to be positioned in a huge crater. It also seemed to be a weird mix of technology and rustic features. The buildings were all well crafted, there were numerous streetlights, their were quite a few TV's in shop windows, and the clothing of the people walking around was remarkably modern looking. On the other hand, metal didn't seem to be widespread for buildings, they were using carts to move things instead of any vehicles, and most of the roads weren't paved. The people were also behaving curiously. You'd think Garrus and Liara would be drawing all sorts of looks, but most of the people saw them and just shrugged before continuing their business like normal.

The three were so captivated by the scenery that they ran into Naruto when they stopped. Naruto chuckled before pointing at a building and informing them, "This is the Hokage's residence. This is where she does most of her work."

The three looked at the building. It was right at the base of the giant mountain with faces carved into them. It was easily the biggest building they had seen yet in the village. It was at least seven or eight floors, slowing narrowing into a dome shaped roof. The building was painted red, with two characters on the side. One meant 'Fire,' and the other was the same symbol that Naruto had on his shoulder.

Liara quickly questioned, "What does that symbol mean? It can't just be coincidence that it matches the seal on your shoulder. Also, why did you say 'Hokage' just now. I thought the leaders were called 'kages?'"

Naruto nodded and answered as he lead them in, "The Hokage is the leader of Konoha. Each leader of the five major shinobi villages takes the name 'kage,' They are all different though, representing the unique characteristics of each village. Suna has the Kazekage. Kumo the Raikage. Kiri the Mizukage. And Iwa has the Tsuchikage."

Naruto lifted his sleeve to show the seal on his shoulder again. He then continued, "This is the kanji meaning 'shinobi'. It is also the symbol used by the Allied Shinobi Forces in the Fourth Shinobi World War. Each village has its own symbol, but the villages all agreed to keep the organization running in the name of peace and cooperation. Now each Shinobi wears two symbols, on of their home village, and this one. It shows their dedication to stopping anymore wars. "

Liara quickly spoke, "Amazing. Can we please know more about this war you keep speaking of?"

Naruto shrugged as he lead them up some stairs before claiming, "There really isn't a whole lot to tell you. Bad guy tries to take over world, we united to stop him, and a lot of people died in the fight. Otherwise though, we might be stronger than ever. We've had several years to recover, and all the villages didn't bring the younger shin obi into the war, so many of them have grown and filled the space of those lost. Our forces are all coordinating to take care of any threat with more efficiency as well. Trade has increased. Given a few more years, and we'll be on a whole different level of strength as before. The war itself was ugly and brutal though. Not much else to I can tell you."

Garrus spoke up now with purpose, "Really. I doubt that. I think you have a lot you could tell us about the war."

Naruto looked over with a rueful smirk as he commented, "So you picked up on it?"

Shepard was confused, but was saved from having to ask by Liara, who quickly asked in confusion, "What are you two talking about?"

Garrus tuned to them before he announced to them, "I think that Naruto here is more important than we have been led to believe. I've had a gut feeling about it since I woke up. He was too calm and sure of himself when he was dealing with us. This isn't a random civilian. This is someone who is used to leading and is in a position of power. I'm certain of it now after watching him. Firstly there is that seal. He can apparently contact the five 'kages' and summon them when he wishes, whatever that means. These are the leaders of the country. It's like someone being able to call the council into session whenever he wants. There were also people watching him with awe. I also heard several talking about him being 'THE Naruto.' He isn't just anybody." Liara and Shepard flushed slightly at not realizing it before looking at Naruto.

Naruto turned to them and gave a sheepish grin as he scratched the back of his head. He spoke up in an embarrassed voice, "Yeah, I was hoping to keep that secret for a while. I'm unique, you could say. The best thing you could call me is that I'm a war hero. Let's leave it at that for now. We need to speak to the Hokage now." He ended by gesturing to the door they had stopped by.

The three reluctantly agreed, to Naruto's clear relief. Shepard watched as Naruto opened the door without knocking. She then was left with a slack jaw as he yelled in the room, "Hey baachan. Couldn't wait to see your breasts again, so I decided to drop by for a visit." He was then interrupted when a paperweight collided with his face.

The three aliens were left to watch as they peered in the door to see a beautiful blonde woman, who must be this Tsunade, scream, "I'm going to kill Jiraiya in the afterlife. He infected you with the pervert disease."

They then turned as Naruto literally peeled the paperweight from his face, revealing a large red mark on his face, as he said as if he hadn't just been nailed in the face with a projectile, "While I can't say that Jiraiya isn't completely at free of fault, I've decided it is part of being a male. Jiraiya and me are just part of an extremely small group of awesome males who don't feel the need to lie and hide our nature of manliness. If anything, open perverts are better than everyone else who hides their nature, and tries to act like he isn't interested in the female body." Once he stopped speaking, Naruto had to duck to dodge another projectile.

Tsunade immediately yelled, "And stop defending it. You're too damn persuasive. I won't let you spread the idea that being a pervert is okay."

Naruto now calmly dodged more projectiles as he replied calmly, "It is okay though, and I dislike how you call me a pervert. I'm interested in the female form. That's all. Does me telling you that each of your breasts deserves to be one of the wonders of the world make me a pervert?"

Realizing that Naruto could dodge anything she threw, Tsunade leapt out of her seat to land a punch to the surprised Naruto's face. Shepard now thought she must be hallucinating when she saw Naruto fly through several walls. After the punch, Tsunade screamed, "Yes! That definitely makes you a pervert! Especially when you still call me baachan!"

Garrus spoke in a scared whisper, "Shepard, I don't think this was such a good idea."

Shepard could only nod, but couldn't speak before she heard a voice that once again left her frozen in shock, "Damn, baachan. I still can't believe I ever would have preferred that flick of yours over something else, but those punches really hurt." Despite his words, Naruto walked through the opening in the wall looking as if he hadn't just been used to create the hole. He cracked his neck, completely relaxed before he pointed to the trio and continued, "But we can't put on such an embarrassing show now, can we? We have guests."

Tsunade looked at the trio for the first time. While she was examining them, they got to look at her closely for the first time. Shepard had to admit that this Tsunade was a beautiful woman of unnatural quality. She was light skinned and had long blond hair which was tied into two ponytails in the back. Her eyes were a light amber color. She was wearing a green robe over a gray kimono styled blouse which left her sizable cleavage showing. Even Shepard had to blush slightly at the view. She then subconsciously crossed her arms over her own breasts. While certainly not small by normal standards, compared to this woman in front of her, they were. The cleavage the woman was flaunting just seemed to enhance this feature. She quickly accepted Naruto's interest in the woman, Shepard saw Liara ogling the woman's breasts in awe, and even Garrus looked to be sneaking peeks despite the females of his species not having mammary glands. What Shepard couldn't understand was why Naruto called the woman baachan. The woman looked to be at most thirty.

Tsunade seemed to calm down. She looked away from them down to the large amount of papers on her desk. She then told Naruto calmly, "I just knew that you were going to find some trouble, Naruto. Let's just wait for Kakashi to arrive before we head to the Kage Council Room."

Naruto nodded and turned his head. Shepard realized that there was actually another person in the room. It was a demure looking girl with brown hair and wearing a kimono. He smiled before announcing, "Nice to see you again, Shizune. I have to say once again. Motherhood has made you even more beautiful."

Shizune smiled. For some reason she remained completely immune to the compliment before she said, "Thank you, Naruto-kun. Kakashi-kun tells me the same thing everyday."

Naruto just chuckled before asking, "So where is little Sakumo-kun?"

Shizune quickly answered, "He's over at Kurenai's with little Asuma. He goes there whenever I come to work."

Naruto looked at Tsunade before asking, "When did you tell Kakashi-sensei to be here? I don't feel like waiting several hours."

Tsunade gained a tick mark on her head as she announced, "I sent him a special message telling him to be here, but he still always insists on coming at least a few minutes late. He should be arriving in…three…two…one."

Immediately a man leapt through the open window. He landed silently and said simply, "Yo." Shepard decided to ignore the fact that he had jumped through a window several stories off the ground, since it seemed this species seemed to perform impossible acts as if they were simple. Instead she looked at the man. He had whitish gray hair that seemed to naturally spike upwards. He also had a blue mask that only showed his eyes. One of which was covered by a headband. Otherwise he seemed to be wearing clothes similar to all the other ninjas Shepard had seen. He also was holding an orange book in his hand.

Naruto smiled as he said calmly, "Hey, Kakashi-sensei. Right on time."

Kakashi just tilted his head and scrunched his only visible eye in a way that gave Shepard the distinct impression he was smiling before commenting in an aloof tone, "Really? I guess I should have waited a few more minutes then. Can't have people actually expect me to arrive on time."

Tsunade now yelled angrily, "Damn it, Kakashi. You were suppose to be here today anyways. You've been designated the next Hokage for two years, but you've yet to do any work preparing you for it."

Kakashi waved his hand as he exclaimed in a teasing voice, "But why? I don't want to do paperwork all day."

"You think I do!"

Tsunade stopped speaking when the calm Shizune suddenly spoke up in a sweet voice that sent a shiver down even Shepard's spine, "Kakashi-kun. What did I tell you about reading that book in public?"

Kakashi didn't seem affected though. He just claimed in the same aloof tone, "Ah, but this isn't public. The agreement didn't say that I couldn't read it in the Hokage's office, now did it?"

Shizune just replied in that scary sweet voice, "But you can't read when there are official guests in the office."

Kakashi finally seemed to see the three. Once again, they all absorbed Liara and Gurrus' appearance without batting an eyelash. He just sighed and tucked the book away. He then turned to Naruto and commented, "I figured you'd find some sort of trouble, Naruto."

Naruto's expression showed his annoyance as he exclaimed, "Why does everyone keep saying that?"

Kakashi shrugged and looked at them and asked, "So what business is this about?"

Tsunade shook her head and stood as she explained, "Too much for just one kage. Naruto's going to summon the other kages. He's already activated the seal. We were just waiting for you to arrive."

Naruto then lead the entire group out of the room and down a hall. Shepard and Garrus kept their distance from the ninja, but Liara was closer. Shepard could see Liara resisting the urge to ask them questions, but she also saw Liara sneaking peeks at the busty Hokage. Apparently Tsunade did to, as she turned and told her, "While this isn't the first time another woman would eye my breasts, it is the first time a blue woman has."

Liara looked embarrassed. Asari couldn't blush like humans, but Liara would be if she could. Liara explained awkwardly, "My apologies. My species is mono-gendered. Although we resemble females, gender doesn't really matter to us. This concerns other species genders as well."

Tsunade eyes narrowed as she muttered, "Your species…Never mind. I'll wait for the meeting."

The group continued in silence. Naruto held open a door, allowing everyone else to enter ahead of him. Shepard looked at the large room as she entered. It was a very large room. The walls were painted white. The only real decoration was the seating. There was a table shaped like half of a circle. There were five chairs spaced around the outside of the table. The half circle was arrayed around the kanji which they now knew meant shinobi. Before each of the seats were kanji for each element of the villages.

Tsunade immediately sat down at the seat labeled with fire. Kakashi and Shizune stood behind her to each side. Naruto motioned for the three of them to stand back. Shepard then watched as Naruto bit his thumb, and went through the same hand motions he had when he had summoned the frog. She realized what he was doing just as he slammed his hands down on the floor. Smoke filled the room. Shepard also felt that suddenly the large room felt more crowded. She watched as the smoke cleared to show a crowd of people had appeared in the room. The people didn't seem to be confused. They all calmly walked to the seats, with others standing behind those seated like Kakashi and Shizune.

Shepard watched as Naruto approach her. Naruto turned and pointed to each person as he announced, "Here, I'll introduce you. The large man there is A, the Raikage. The two standing behind him are Mabui, his assistant, and Darui, one of his body guards."

Shepard scanned each one as he spoke of them. The Raikage was a huge black man. He looked to be as big as a body builder. His muscles were clear even with the loose clothing the man was wearing. He also had platinum blond hair, and some facial hair. Shepard also noticed that his left arm looked to be amputated. Darui looked slightly similar. He was also black, but Darui's hair was shaggier and pure white. He also had a larger nose, along with a lazy look about him. He was dressed in mainly black, with a white vest that had only one strap over his shoulder. He also had a sword so large that common sense told Shepard it was too heavy to be useful, but she realized common sense didn't apply to this race. Mabui was another woman who instantly made Shepard self conscious about her looks. While not as dark skinned as the other two, she was still rather tanned. She also had light grey hair that was almost white. It was pulled back into a bun, with only two bangs framing her face. She was wearing a green dress and pants, which left enough showing to reveal that Mabui had just as large of breasts as Tsunade.

Naruto pointed to a different group. He continued, "That is Mei Terumi. She is the Mizukage. The short timid kid next to him is Chojuro. Don't let his appearance fool you. He can get scary in battle. The stern man is Ao. He's sort of a buzz kill."

Just seeing Mei got Shepard annoyed. How many woman of this species looked like freaking gorgeous models? This woman just seemed to release an aura of sensuality. She had long auburn colored hair which fell down her back. It also covered one of her eyes. She was wearing a blue dress with mesh under it. Once again, she also had large breasts, and the slit on the side of the dress showed her long legs. Chojuro was a short timid looking kid with pale blue hair and dark rimmed glasses. He also had a large wrapped bundle on his back. Ao was a middle aged man with his blue hair done up to look like a fin or Mohawk. He also had an eye patch over one eye. He wore a long blue robe and had his ears pierced.

Naruto continued and pointed to a new group, "That is Gaara. He's the Kazekage. Don't mind his stoic look. He's a really nice guy. The other two are his siblings. Temari and Kankuro."

Gaara was a pale kid with hair the color of blood and dark rings around his eyes. He also had a gourd on his back that Shepard couldn't imagine anyone being able to lug around everywhere. He was wearing a mix of red and bluish grey. He also had a kanji carved into his forehead and no eyebrows. His eyes were an unsettling green color. The girl, who she assumed must be Temari, while pretty, didn't make Shepard as self-conscious. She had blond hair which was done up into four ponytails. Her eyes were a darker green then her brother. She was wearing a black and red obi, and had a large metal thing positioned on her back. Shepard was starting to think that it was a fashion here to carry some heavy object on one's back. The other one was slightly more weird. He had a black body suit with a hood. He also had purple face paint on, and guess what, a large wrapped bundle on his back. She saw that he had brown hair under the hood as well.

Naruto pointed to the last group and finished, "The girl is Kurotsuchi, the Tsuchikage. The older one beside her is her father, Kitsuchi. The other one is Akatsuchi."

Kurotsuchi, Shepard immediately noticed, might be the most average looking of all the girls she's seen so far. She wasn't ugly. In fact, she was rather attractive, but she seemed to be a tomboy. Not the cared for beauty of Mei or Mabui. Kurotsuchi had short dark brown hair, and pink eyes without pupils, which Shepard had noticed several of the others had as well. Maybe she was finally starting to see the differences between this species and humans. She was dressed in mainly red. Her legs were mainly covered by mesh, only having short red shorts otherwise. She also had a longer cloth on the right side. She had a red shirt on, with only one side having a sleeve. It was covered by a dark brown vest. The other two made it clear that this species wasn't human. Both were large. Really large. They both also had large faces, with bulbous noses. Never had Shepard seen a human like those two.

The room finally settled down. The kages were all sitting with their aides behind them. The Raikage spoke first, "So why were we summoned here? We didn't have another meeting scheduled for two weeks."

Tsunade jerked her head at Naruto before pointing out, "I don't know much more than you. Ask Naruto."

The group looked at Naruto, although several focused on Shepard and her companions. Naruto stepped forward and calmly explained, "Sorry for calling you all here, but this is actually very important. See I was in the wilderness training when something happened. Well…a meteor hit me."

Mei quickly asked, "Are you all right, Naruto? You're important to the entire world. It would be devastating if we lost you. Not to mention there are too few handsome men around for you to die."

Shepard watched in amusement as Naruto blushed slightly. Yep, that Mizukage just oozed sensuality. Naruto coughed before continuing, "As you can see, I'm okay. It was a close call, but I came out relatively unharmed. Except a change of clothes was destroyed. Anyways, it turned out it wasn't just a meteor. It was a ship of some sort. I looked inside and found these three. It took a while for them to wake up, but when they did, they told me some very important news. I thought you all needed to know."

Gaara asked emotionlessly, "How important?"

Naruto replied without hesitation, "Life changing."

Tsunade nodded before ordering, "Okay. Then let's have the people in question tell us about this news."

Naruto stepped to the side and looked at Shepard. The instruction clear. Shepard gulped and stepped forward nervously to act as an ambassador for the entire council.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Naruto watched intently as Shepard typed some buttons into that orange tool on her arm. He was anxious to get more details now. He had taken the day to accept what she had told him before , but now he needed more answers. The kages would be shocked and confused. He had to be prepared to help them.

Shepard finally straightened before announcing, "I am Commander Jane Shepard of the Human Alliance. Commanding Officer of the SSV Normandy, and Spectre of the Council. This also makes me the official ambassador to your planet, speaking on behalf of the council. First I shall brief you on the entire situation you are unaware of."

Shepard took a deep breath before continuing, "The Milky Way Galaxy is controlled by a galactic wide civilization. Headed by the Council, the civilization includes many different species which have achieved spaceflight. Although we rule the galaxy, the galaxy is a large space. Currently, only one percent of stars have been surveyed. We are constantly exploring further. Approximately six days ago, an explorative probe found this solar system. It found this planet, and further scans showed life. I, as a Spectre, was sent to inspect to see if any sentient life had developed. Unfortunately our shuttle experienced a powerful electromagnetic field which escaped our scans. It shut off the shuttle systems, and we subsequently crashed. We woke up to find us under the care of Naruto."

The group remained ominously silent. Naruto could tell Shepard was uncomfortable. She probably expected disbelief or yelling. Not a silent acceptance. Naruto had though. They were ninja. They readily believed the impossible could be done. They would instead react instantly to any threat, which Shepard had inadvertently stated. Naruto could see Shepard was feeling nervous. She would be even more nervous if she knew she could be killed within seconds if any of these people decided to.

It was Gaara who spoke first. He spoke in a firm voice of a leader who felt threatened, "You said that your civilization ruled the galaxy. Is that meant to be a threat against our people's independence and autonomy?"

Naruto watched Shepard blink before replying without thinking, "Of course not." Shepard shook her head at the careless thought. Naruto had to fight back a grin as she straightened and explained in slight embarrassment, "I'm sorry. I phrased that wrong. I'm a soldier, not a politician. I would prefer to leave this up to someone who knows how to speak better, but let me try to explain my purpose better. The Galactic Council is the major power in the galaxy, but they don't rule the galaxy. There are currently species and groups who choose to live separately from the council authority. The council is simply a gathering of different species with the intent to promote interspecies cooperation and prevent galactic wars. While certain species hold greater power, you could choose to have nothing to do with it. Unless you threatened Citadel Space, you would most likely be left alone."

Naruto felt the tension in the room drop slightly. They were still wary, but at least none were on the verge of killing the aliens. Shepard seemed to have felt it and continued more confidently, "I was able to contact the council earlier. They know of my discovery here, and have sent me an offer I'm suppose to give to you." She reactivated her Omni-Tool before continuing, "On behalf of the council, I am suppose to relay to you this offer. The Council will acknowledge that this planet is occupied by your species. Council Law dictates that the council cannot initiate any military actions against a sentient species without sufficient cause. So you could continue with your lives without any change from the council. They also offer you a different choice too. The council wishes to establish official relations with your species. This would include exchange of technology, opening of trade relations, and possible inclusion in Citadel Space. If you accept the opening of diplomatic channels, two different options are available to you. Either you can send a representative of your race aboard my ship to come and negotiate with the council in person or the council can send their own ambassador to this planet." The orange tool disappeared and Shepard straightened. Momentarily done.

Naruto looked at everyone in the room, judging how they were reacting. Naruto felt that they were split over what to do. Knowing that they needed more answers before deciding, Naruto turned to Shepard and asked, "Can you tell us more about this galactic civilization and council?"

Shepard nodded, but seemed confused on how to start. She finally motioned for Liara and Garrus to step forward. She then turned and explained, "I can tell you about the other species under the council. Liara here, is an Asari. They were the first species to find the Citadel and achieve spaceflight about 3,000 years ago. They are a mono-gendered race from the planet Thessia. They have a seat on the Council. Garrus is a Turian. A militant race from the planet Palaven. They joined the Council about 1,400 years ago after helping to stop a galactic war. They provide the main peacekeeping forces. My species, are humans. Despite looking like it, we are from different species. We only became part of Citadel Space under thirty years ago. We fought with the Turians briefly before the council negotiated a cease fire. We don't have a seat on the council, only an embassy." She typed on her orange tool before producing a hologram of a lizard like creature before continuing, "The Salarians. They discovered the Citadel forty years after the Asari. They hold the other council seat. They are a very scientifically minded people with short life spans. There are many others. The Elcor, Volus, Drell, and Hanar. There are other species not with the Council as well. The Quarians, Krogan, Batarains, and others, but I can't explain them all to you."

Tsunade now asked, "What do you mean a council seat?"

Shepard nodded before explaining, "The council is the ultimate power in Citadel Space, but only three species currently have a seat on it. To get a seat on the council, a species must perform a great deed for Citadel Space. The Asari and Salarians formed it, and the Turians stopped the Krogan during the Krogan Rebellions. If a species is part of Citadel Space, but doesn't have a seat on the council, they have an embassy on the Citadel. This makes them an associate member. Their ambassadors can bring issues to the council, but don't have influence on the final decisions."

Mei was the one who now asked, "What is this Citadel you have mentioned?"

Naruto looked to Shepard, also curious on this issue. Shepard used her tool to change the hologram to show a weirdly shaped ship or something. She then explained, "The Citadel is a giant Space Station constructed by the extinct Protheans over fifty thousand years ago. It is almost 45 kilometers in length and hosts a population of over 13 million. It is the center of galactic society."

A spoke angrily, "So if we joined we would have to follow your laws, but wouldn't even get a say in decision making? That's preposterous."

Shepard replied anxiously, "You don't have to become part of Citadel Space. You can simply open trade ways or likewise. If you joined however, you would officially be under the protection of the Council. As I said, I'm not a politician. Here, you can take one of our Omni-Tools. It is standard procedure to carry an extra. An Omni-Tool is a multipurpose tools with various functions. I am uploading a codex to it. A codex is basically an encyclopedia of the galaxy. You can research topics you want to know about while making your decision. My pilot estimates that it will take several days to modify a ship to withstand your planet's electromagnetic field."

Naruto grabbed the Omni-Tool and handed it to Tsunade. Tsunade handed it to Shizune before claiming, "I'll send it to Shiho for research. Her and Shikamaru can look it over. I'll have them draft a report on the info and given to all of you in several hours. Until then, I think we all need time to think this over. You all can stay in your usual residences. Naruto, you are to escort the aliens around Konoha and supervise them. Until then, I think everyone will agree this meeting is done."

Naruto nodded. They had all received a lot of information, and they needed time to think on it. Naruto had also already interacted with the aliens, so it was clear why he was in charge of supervising them.

He turned to the trio as the entire group stood up. He motioned for them to follow him. He didn't speak till they were outside the building. He turned to see the three of them trying to keep up with him. He muttered, "Sorry."

Liara quickly asked, "Why are you so anxious to leave?"

Naruto shrugged before explaining, "I just wanted to get you all out of there. The meeting could have gone better, and so it was best to give them time to think."

Garrus was the one who spoke up, "What do you mean it didn't go well? After that rough beginning, I thought it went well."

Naruto shook his head as he claimed, "I'm better at reading ninjas body language. The Raikage just expressed their thoughts. They all don't find the proposition of following other's laws too appealing."

Shepard quickly debated, "I thought I told them that it wasn't like that?"

Naruto sighed before he told them, "Yes, but they didn't believe you. Although this will definitely spark a change, no matter their decision, even I find what you say difficult to believe. You expect us to believe that your council will give us technology if we decide to not follow their laws, and if they did, they would have to expect to gain something in return. No, we either follow their laws, or have nothing to do with your species." Naruto saw the trio looking confused and slightly offended. He waved his hand at them carelessly as he claimed, "Don't worry. I think we should accept the offer. I'm just telling you why they might be suspicious."

Shepard now asked curiously, "You want them to agree? Why? I thought you just said you can see why they would be suspicious."

Naruto just gave them a huge grin as he declared, "I said I understand what they think. I don't have to agree with it." The trio seemed to be happy about his declaration. Naruto turned away as he added, "Plus, it sounds fun. Having a whole galaxy to explore."

Shepard slapped her face in exasperation before remarking, "I see why everyone figured you'd find some trouble. You'd fight a Krogan for kicks."

Naruto immediately asked with stars in his eyes, "What is a Krogan? Are they tough? Can I fight one?" He stopped when he saw Shepard thought he was serious. He now seriously told them, "Don't worry. I'll send clones to talk to them all and try to convince them. I'll wait for Shiho and Shikamaru to send out that report. Even I agree we should get more information before making a decision."

Liara quickly asked, "Clones? What do you mean?"

Naruto sighed before explaining, "A technique. I can create solid clones of myself. They are similar in every way."

Garrus now commented, "Normally I'd say that is impossible, but I really don't want to be proven wrong. Your species doesn't seem to follow common sense."

Naruto gave a shit eating grin before saying loudly, "Good choice."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shepard was impressed by their accommodations. They were given a suite in a luxurious hotel Naruto explained was built for the kages several years ago and other visiting officials. The suite had three beds, a kitchen, and a large bathroom with a shower. There was even the best TV's the planet had, with channels provided using radio waves.

Shepard looked at Naruto, who was currently looking out the window. Garrus was laying down on one of the beds due to his wound hurting, and Liara was in the bathroom. She finally asked, "What are you looking at, Naruto?"

Naruto looked at her before saying sadly, "Just watching the village."

Shepard knew this was a sore subject, but was too curious not to ask, "So why did you leave? You said this was your village? Why would you leave home?"

Naruto looked at her expressionlessly for several seconds. He finally shrugged before claiming, "The kages decided I was too powerful to remain part of a single village. Otherwise it would tip the balance of power."

Garrus turned over before asking, "How can one person be so powerful that he can't even be part of a village?"

Naruto sighed and walked over and sat down in one of the available chairs. He looked at them before he said to himself, "I guess it's time I told you a little more about this world. It is only fair, considering that you gave us your codex thingy."

Shepard sat down in a chair opposite him in curiosity. She saw that Liara had also come back, and was leaning against one of the walls. She turned back to Naruto and asked, "What do you mean?"

Naruto looked at them with an intensity that made Shepard realize that Naruto was very dangerous. She had realized it on some level all along, but it wasn't till now that she realized that she wouldn't want to fight Naruto in any way. She would not win. Naruto spoke up, "About the power of ninjas. I'm assuming that you are all basically civilians. Trained soldiers, but without chakra. Even our civilians don't realize the damage that we can inflict using chakra. Until I set it straight, you all won't understand."

Shepard held out a hand to stop Garrus from protesting his words. Naruto nodded at her in appreciation. He took a deep breath before he began, "I'll start from the very beginning. As in, the very beginning. Legend tells us that a monster used to wander the land. He gave off an energy so foul and full of hatred that all life died around it. This continued for centuries before a man finally confronted the monster. A priest. The priest had been exposed to the energy the monster gave off as a baby. Instead of dying, he adapted to it. His eyes changed to allow him many abilities, including the ability to see the energy. Using these eyes, the priest had discovered how to wield the same sort of energy as the monster. He then confronted the monster, but the beast was of unimaginable power. He couldn't defeat it. Instead, he did the only thing he could. He sealed the energy of the monster inside of himself. Doing this, he was able to stop it. He used that energy to create a cage for the monster's body, and then sent it into the sky itself. This cage became the moon."

Gaarrus now asked scornfully, "Are you kidding? You expect us to believe this? Moons are formed from small bodies which are captured in the gravity of a planet. They aren't cages for monsters."

Naruto stared at Garrus. Shepard could feel the anger he was giving off. Shepard turned to Garrus and informed him a little too harshly, "Garrus, don't be rude. Listen to his story."

Garrus seemed annoyed, but Naruto nodded in thanks at Shepard. He then continued, "So the priest had rid the world of the monster. He then spent years spreading peace, and teaching others the way to wield the energy. This energy is chakra. We now know the priest by the moniker of The Sage of Six Paths. Those he taught became the first ninjas. Peace reigned for a time, but the Sage knew it was only temporary. The beast was captured not defeated. Chakra is the combination of energy from the body, and the mind. So the mind of the beast still remained in the energy sealed in his body. He couldn't kill it before, and he couldn't destroy it after it was sealed either. He knew that when he died, the energy would be released, and it was so powerful that the energy could form a new body. So he decided to change the energy instead. He performed a jutsu to split the energy into nine different bodies. These became the Tailed Beasts. Each one had an increasing level of tails. Although they all came from the same source, they were basically children which matured. Thousands of years passed, and the Tailed Beasts grew up and changed in power. Despite common belief, the number of tails didn't determine the power of the Tailed Beast. There was Shukaku, the One Tail. Nibi, the Two Tails. Sanbi, the Three Tails. Yobi, the Four Tails. Gobi, the Five Tails. Rokubi, the Six Tails. Nanabi, the Seven Tails. Hachibi, the Eight tails. And the strongest by far, Kyuubi, the Nine Tails. The original monster also became referred to as the Ten Tails."

"The problem was the pure power of the Tailed Beasts, and the precedent the Sage had created by sealing one into his body. Ninjas started sealing the beasts into their bodies to gain power. These were called Jinchuriki, or Power of the Human Sacrifice. They viewed the Tailed Beasts as tools to gain power, and this changed the Tailed Beasts. They started to hate us. They started attacking ninjas. This in turn caused ninjas to believe the Tailed Beasts were mindless monsters of destruction. This started a cycle between ninjas and them. The Tailed Beasts cannot be destroyed. Their bodies are pure constructs of chakra. Even when their jinchuriki dies, the Tailed Beasts could reform. Their hatred of us made them attack us when they were free, and when they attacked us, we had to seal them to stop them. The more we sealed them, the more they hate us. Understand what this causes."

Liara was the one who remarked, "It means constant war."

Naruto nodded before continuing, "And there was constant war anyways. Ninjas split into clans. For thousands of years they were constantly warring. With the Tailed Beasts sometimes attacking one. This changed after the formation of the Hidden Villages. I told you it happened about a century ago. It all centered around Konoha. Konoha was formed by two powerful clans combining their power. The Senju and Uchiha. Both were headed by a the most powerful ninjas of their era. Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. These two were unique for their powerful bloodlines. Hashirama could control trees, and Madara had the Sharingan. Both gave them the ability to control the Tailed Beasts. They used this to their advantage. With the villages starting, it made the Tailed Beasts even more of a threat. Individual clans could run from them, and it didn't matter if one clan was eliminated anyways. There were always more. But the establishment of Konoha caused the same to happen elsewhere. The Hidden Villages formed. With the clans together and creating stationary villages instead of roaming bands, It would allow the Tailed Beasts to attack and cause even more damage. So Hashirama used his ability to control the Tailed Beasts. He also wanted peace, so he distributed them among the villages like objects. He hoped that each village having the power of a Tailed Beast would eliminate war."

Garrus nodded as he commented, "Seems like a good idea. That's how the Council operates. No one starts a war because they'll reply in overwhelming force in retaliation. Total war. That's how the turians have stopped many wars from happening. As long as the council stays the strongest in the galaxy, no one will dare start a war with them."

Naruto nodded before continuing solemnly, "Unfortunately, ninjas were trained for war. The Hidden Villages weren't afraid of suffering casualties, but that is later. Because of this, Hashirama eventually became Hokage, causing Madara to defect. Knowing he couldn't defeat the entire village of Konoha by himself, Madara decided to use the last free Tailed Beast. The Kyuubi."

Shepard now asked to clarify, "I thought all the Tailed Beasts were used in sealing. Why not the Kyuubi?"

Naruto looked at her as he explained, "I told you the Kyuubi was the strongest Tailed Beast. No one wanted to face it. Only one man was reported to have tried to control the Kyuubi before that. The eldest son of the Sage of Six Paths. Despite having the eyes of the Sage, he failed. It set a bad precedent. Plus, just to help you picture it. Kyuubi was the largest Tailed Beast by far. All of them were gigantic, but the Kyuubi originally stood over mountains. No ninja was willing to face it. Until Madara. Madara had the Sharingan, the bloodline originating from the Sage's himself. By unlocking a forbidden form of it, he managed to do the impossible. He was able to control the Kyuubi. He then used it to face down Hashirama and his wife, Mito Uzumaki. Their battle created a huge valley. Madara was defeated even with the Kyuubi. Hashirama used his bloodline to weaken the Kyuubi enough for Hashirama's wife to seal it into herself. She became the first jinchuriki of the Kyuubi in history. The two then defeated Madara. Hashirama died from his injuries later."

Shepard now asked, "While this is really fascinating, why are you telling us this?"

Liara looked at Shepard, scandalized, before saying excitedly, "It is more than fascinating. I've never heard of such comprehensive legends, and this one is real."

Naruto smiled at Liara before he announced, "While I'm glad you like the story, it actually has a different purpose. The Tailed Beast have caused the last great war, and defined my life. My mother was the second jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. When she gave birth to me, the seal weakened. It allowed someone to attack and release the Kyuubi in the middle of Konoha. The damage this caused is indescribable. Let me show you guys."

Shepard frowned in confusion. She then watched as Naruto's left eye changed. It went from a violet to a blood red with a weird design in the middle. Shepard couldn't look away. She heard Naruto whisper from within her mind itself, "Sharingan."

Then came possibly the most terrifying time of Shepard's life. She had seen her family and friends killed by slavers when she was a kid, but that was nothing compared to this. She saw a vision. Like that she had just experienced on Eden Prime. No, this was different. She couldn't truly understand the Eden Prime vision. This one…she felt the terror. The pain. The hatred. She watched as a gigantic monster stood over the entire village of Konoha. Its nine tails were whipping through the air. She felt the hatred it was exuding. Its desire to kill everything. For everything to be consumed in fire.

Then it was over. Shepard slumped back into her seat, completely drained from that vision. She saw Liara slump to the floor and Garrus lay down on the bed. So they had seen it too. She turned to Naruto, who's eye had returned to normal.

Naruto quickly said in an apologetic voice, "I'm sorry for showing you that. I just needed to express on you how powerful and devastating the Kyuubi was. Hearing it is one thing. Experiencing it is…"

Shepard nodded as she gasped out, "So much different."

Naruto nodded sadly before continuing, "The attack had come out of nowhere. Konoha wasn't prepared. Konoha was devastated. The Fourth Hokage managed to seal the Kyuubi into a child. He sealed it into his own son. The Fourth and his wife died in the attack from sealing it."

Liara raised her hands to her mouth as she gasped out, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, Naruto."

Shepard looked in confusion at Liara before turning back to Naruto. Shepard was immediately struck silent. The cheerful Naruto looked…so forlorn. She immediately understood what Liara had picked up. Naruto nodded before continuing sadly, "Yes. I was the child used to seal the Kyuubi. It was…difficult. My parentage was kept a secret. My father had made lots of enemies in the Third World War. They wouldn't have hesitated to kill me in revenge, but it was known I was the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. You saw what the attack was like. Everyone was scared. They feared me. Feared what I held. Thought I was simply the Kyuubi put into a weak child's body. It was…hard to say the least. I grew up dealing with hatred and being ostracized. I didn't even know about the Kyuubi until I was thirteen."

Liara immediately whispered, "It must have been terrible."

Naruto shrugged before replying quickly, "Yes, but I got through it. Many jinchuriki were feared. We were treated as tools of war. A group came around that wanted to use that power. They were called Akatsuki. They set out to capture all the Bijuu and use them to rule the world. It was led in secret by a man who had a different plan. He had the Sharingan. He hoped to capture all the Bijuu and combine them back into the Ten Tails. He would then seal it into himself, and use its power to cast an illusion of unprecedented power. He was going to use the moon to reflect the illusion over the entire planet. He was doing this under the belief that it the only way to create peace was for him to control everyone. The villages united to stop him. While our army fought his artificially created one, I confronted him with the last other remaining jinchuriki left. The fight was…epic and horrible. He used the other Bijuu against us, eventually even reviving the Ten-Tails. We were fighting a losing fight from the beginning."

Shepard couldn't resist asking, "So how did you beat him?"

Naruto smiled before asking, "I told you that ninjas thought the Bijuu were mindless beasts right? I can testify that this was wrong. They had minds. They simply hated ninjas for treating them like tools. You want to know how I won…I became friends with them all."

Shepard blinked in shock before asking, "What?"

Naruto just had a serene smile on his face as he repeated aloud, "Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, Son Goku, Kokuo, Saiken, Chomei, Gyuki, and Kurama, Those were their names. Their real names!"

Shepard tried to imagine becoming friends with the vicious monster from her vision. She felt faintly sick to her stomach. She asked in disbelief, "Impossible. That…thing. That thing was pure evil. It deserved to be destroyed. Not befriended."

Shepard suddenly saw herself die in dozens of different ways. It was just as terrifying as the other vision. She watched in pure fear as she saw Naruto truly angry for the first time. She was helpless as he stood up and angrily yelled, "No, he wasn't. He wasn't evil. He was a person, just like you and me. His appearance or power shouldn't change that. It is thoughts like that that cause conflict in this world. If we can't accept other's faults, how can peace ever be achieved?"

Shepard had to hold back tears as she whispered, "I'm sorry."

Naruto stopped and took several deep breaths, as his limbs shook in anger. He finally relaxed. He sat down as he answered in an apologetic tone, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reacted like that. You aren't the only one that thought that. I just don't like people disrespecting Kurama's memory."

Liara recovered the fastest of the three due to her overwhelming curiosity, "I thought that the Bijuu couldn't be killed. You spoke in past tense about the Nine Tails."

Naruto nodded before trying to explain awkwardly, "They couldn't be killed. Their energy was always regenerating, but it could be remodeled. Just like how the Sage split the Ten Tails up into nine. The Bijuu decided to use the remnants of their will within the revived Ten-Tails to combine their chakra and give it to someone else, despite it basically being their death."

Shepard finally connected all the dots. She looked at Naruto in awe, disbelief, and slight fear as she whispered, "You said you beat the man by befriending the Bijuu. They gave you their chakra."

Naruto nodded before announcing, "Yep. I helped cure the Bijuu of their hatred, and so they entrusted me with their power, and the dream of their father, the Sage himself. To create peace. I stopped being a jinchuriki. I am the Ten Tails, with power at my disposal to destroy…everything. So I'm feared for my power just as much I am loved for stopping the war."

Garrus was the one who asked, "So how powerful are you?"

Naruto shook his head before saying simply, "Pray you never need to find out. Because the only time I'll ever use all of my power is if the entire fate of the galaxy rests on my shoulders."

Shepard had the ominous feeling that Naruto's power was going to be vital sometime in the future.

**There is the first chapter. I'm posting the second, but i should do a quick authors note.**

**I realize many of these things i've stated are unlikely to happen, but i'm not going to change it. Even if the kages die, i'm not going to modify this story. I also believe this is how the Ten Tails will be defeated. The whole true names thing. I'm assuming that they are simply giving Naruto a piece of their will, which will then allow him to take control of the Ten Tails or something. **

**Naruto will basically be godlike, but he isn't going to be throwing his power around. He's matured, and realizes explosions aren't the answer to everything. _Yes they are. A big enough explosion can solve any problem. _Shut up. Not in this story they can't...Anyways, so don't expect him to go Ten Tails on every opponent. **

**I know. Naruto shouldn't have told them all about the Bijuu and such, but i just felt like writing it. Getting it out of the way. **

**I think that is all that needs to be said for this chapter.**


	2. Interaction

**Here is the second chapter of this story. Enjoy.**

Naruto called out in a bored voice, "Geez Shepard, Liara. Are you done yet?"

When the two called back a negative, Garrus shook his head before remarking, "Geez, it seems females love of primping extends beyond a single species."

Naruto nodded and muttered in an annoyed voice, "I know. I never got why kunoichi spent so much time on their looks. I mean, we're soldiers for heavens sake. Yet they always have to look like models or something.

Garrus nodded and said, "Amen to that."

Naruto looked out the window in annoyance. After their talk yesterday, he had gotten them all to go to sleep. He had spent the entire night meditating on the feelings he had woken up during the talk, trying to come to deal with them. Yet when he woke them up to give them a brief tour of the village, he somehow found himself having to spend two hours waiting for Liara and Shepard to get ready. Liara didn't even have hair to take care of.

It took another ten minutes for them to be ready. Shepard spoke as she opened the door, "It's your fault, Naruto. If it wasn't for your kages looking so good, we wouldn't have to feel the need to measure up."

Naruto looked at the two as they left the bathroom. He had gotten them some different clothing since all they had was their armor. Liara seemed to have gone a traditional route, wearing a fancy kimono. The edges were white, and it had a mixture of white and pink designs over it. She also seemed to have applied some makeup. Her face seemed oddly shiny and had some glitter around her eyes and lips. It clearly highlighted the natural beauty already present. Shepard seemed to have gone for a slightly different look. She seemed to be wearing the more ninja like clothes Naruto had given them. She was wearing a kimono-styled blouse with short sleeves. Under the blouse was a shirt of mesh. The blouse was teal with pink edges. She was wearing dark blue pants as well. The clothing was slightly familiar to Tsunade's. She also had a bit of makeup on. Some light red lipstick, and dark eye shadow that highlighted her green eyes. Her dark red hair just looked to be combed. Both of them looked good.

Naruto tilted his head before asking, "What do you mean?"

Shepard gave him a stink eye as she stated, "Like you don't realize. Practically every woman we saw yesterday was gorgeous. Liara naturally wants to look her best since she finds them all attractive, and I don't want to be the ugly one in the bunch."

Naruto shrugged as he told them all, "Ah, most kunoichi are like that. I don't think I've ever seen an ugly one in the bunch. It has to do with chakra permeating our bodies and cleansing it of all contaminants or something. It isn't quite as clear for guys. Our civilians are all far more normal though."

Shepard gave him a look that made it clear she didn't believe him. He ignored her and stood and stretched. He then turned to them and announced excitedly, "Now your special premium tour of Konoha is ready to begin, courtesy of Uzumaki Naruto."

He then slowly walked them through the town, showing them through the town. He showed them some of the more prominent shops and sights. It was Liara who asked several hours later, "Are you sure this is okay, Naruto? If your leaders decide that they don't want to join the galactic community, showing Garrus and I around might cause problems."

Naruto just laughed before exclaiming, "Don't worry. My clones did pretty good work last night. The kages are coming around. Only the Raikage is still against it, but he trusts my opinion enough to give it a chance. The information you gave us yesterday also helped. The reports were sent around yesterday, and were read before night was even fallen."

Liara looked surprised as she asked, "Really, your scientists managed to report all the information in an Omni-Tool in several hours. That's impressive."

Naruto just grinned as he told them, "Yeah, Shikamaru and Shiho are really impressive. Shiho might be kinda awkward, but she is good with technology and figuring things out. Shikamaru might very well be the smartest kid in the world too. Those two can figure anything out."

Liara nodded before saying earnestly, "I'd like to meet them then. If they can adapt to our technology so fast, then they must be very intelligent."

Naruto now put on a huge grin before he stepped in front of them. He quickly announced to them, "Don't worry. You'll be meeting them at lunch."

He saw Shepard frown and ask, "What do you mean?"

Naruto's smile didn't falter as he told them, "Whenever I'm in town, I have lunch with my old friends. I sent clones to them yesterday night to tell them. We'll be having a picnic at the park."

Naruto saw their mixed reactions. It seemed that both Shepard and Garrus didn't really know how to react, while Liara now looked excited. He was confident now that he had all of them pegged. Shepard and Garrus were both trained soldiers. That much was obvious. Garrus seemed to be slightly sharper and more suspicious than Shepard, but he deferred to Shepard on basically everything. So Shepard must have some leadership skills that she hadn't been able to display yet. Liara was completely different though. She lacked the professional air of the other two. In fact, she seemed to be slightly more childish in someway, although Naruto also detected quite a bit of intelligence from how quickly she caught on to some things. Being here was clearly exciting for her, so he assumed she was a scholar or explorer. Yet Naruto couldn't figure out why she would be on a military ship with Shepard. Although she might have been sent specifically for this mission by their council, Naruto could tell the two were at least slightly familiar with each other. Naruto felt like something was going on here that they hadn't told him about yet.

None of this showed on his face though. He was an expert at keeping smiling when he wanted to. He now told them, "They should start arriving in an hour or so, but we're meeting someone else first."

Shepard turned her head to ask, "Who?"

Naruto just smiled and tapped the side of his nose as he said smugly, "That would be telling." Shepard turned away angrily, causing Naruto to laugh.

It only took them several minutes to reach the park. It wasn't till Naruto saw the park that he realized how nice of a day it was. There was something about looking at grass and trees that made one look at everything else about the day. Buildings just didn't convey the same feeling of serenity. The sky was cloudless, with the sun shining proudly. There was also only a gentle breeze stirring the surrounding area. If there was one thing that Naruto liked about being exiled, it was all the time he spent in nature. Since he became a Sage, he never felt at peace except surrounded by nature. Maybe that was why Jiraiya spent so much time traveling.

His calm was interrupted by a loud vice yelling in excitement, "Daddy!"

Naruto grinned as he crouched down to catch the small bundle flying at him. He laughed as he spun the child around, his laugh being joined by that of the child. He finally stopped spinning and held the child at arm's distance. He immediately joked in a happy voice, "Geez. Getting heavy there, squirt."

The kid puffed up in pride while protesting at the same time, "Hey, I'm not a squirt!"

Naruto set the kid down as he replied jokingly, "Sure you aren't, squirt." The kid proceeded to beat on Naruto's leg cutely.

"Um, who is this, Naruto?"

Naruto turned to see the three looking at the child in confusion and disbelief. He just grinned and crouched down behind the child with his hands on the child's shoulders and announced loudly, "This is my son. Kurama Uzumaki-Hyuuga."

Naruto grinned in pride as the three showed complete shock as they looked at Kurama. No doubt they could see the resemblance. Kurama looked a lot like him. He had his spiky blond hair, and his face was shaped like Naruto's. The only train the inherited from his mother was his eyes. His eyes were large and without pupils, distinctive of the inactivated Byakygan. The color was even slightly similar to his. Kurama's eyes were a very light blue. Otherwise he was a typical two year old kid. Even if Naruto constantly teased him on being short.

Garrus was the one who exclaimed, "Are you kidding me? You're what…nineteen years old? How could you already have a kid that age?"

Naruto frowned slightly as he answered, "What's wrong with that? I mean sure, we were slightly young, but it isn't that unusual for ninjas. We tend to live shorter lives. We don't have time to wait till we're thirty or forty like civilians."

Garrus immediately protested, "No way! That kid must be six or seven. That would mean you were like thirteen!"

Naruto bluntly stated, "Kurama isn't even two years old."

The three were shocked speechless, allowing his son to spin around and declare triumphantly, "See! I'm not tiny. They thought I was six."

Naruto shook his head before teasing everyone present, "They're just silly little aliens, Kurama. They don't know enough to realize that you are a squirt." Kurama puffed his cheeks out angrily.

Liara interrupted by asking uncertainly, "Is he really only two, Naruto?"

Naruto nodded before asking, "Yeah. Why? What are your two year olds like?"

Shepard was the one who claimed with a deadpan expression, "Just learning their first words and taking their first steps."

Naruto blinked in surprise before asking, "You're kidding, right?" When it was clear the three weren't, Naruto thought out loud, "Wow. So if Kurama is currently at a stage similar to your six year olds, we must age far faster. Kakashi-sensei actually became a genin at five, and a chuunin at six. That meant he was technically an adult in our society. There is generally a period of several years where we stop growing physically, around eight to thirteen, but we can be quite intelligent and physically mature by that age. It must have been an adaptation to the constant war. Age quickly to a point where we are able to fight."

Naruto was stopped from thinking more on it by someone speaking in a soft voice, "Hello, Naruto."

Naruto turned around to say softly in return, "Hi, Hinata."

Hinata was standing demurely about ten steps away. Naruto once again had to comment to himself how gorgeous Hinata was. He had always ignored most girls as a kid, besides Sakura, that he had never really noticed Hinata. Now, everyone noticed Hinata. Like many kunoichi, motherhood made them even more gorgeous. Hinata still had her hair long, although it was currently tied into a bun in the back, while letting multiple strands fall down around her face. Her face was pale and blemish free, begging to be touched. Even her eyes with the hint of lavender were attractive. Also, giving birth had only effected Hinata in a good way. Her bust had grown even larger, and her hips had rounded out nicely. Her waist was still tiny though, and her legs were still firmed and toned. Overall, as corny as it sounded, she had the body of a goddess. Only people like Tsunade, Mei, and Mabui could compare. She still felt insecure enough to always cover up though. She wore similar clothes to what she had after his training trip. Still effectively covering everything. Still, that was part of her charm.

Naruto asked affectionately, "How are you doing, Hinata?"

Hinata nodded and gave a smile as she answered, "As well as can be expected. I'm getting on. Kurama is doing fine as well."

Naruto nodded eagerly and scuffed up Kurama's hair as he declared, "I see that. Growing up fast. Well, not vertically, but that isn't your fault." Once again, Kurama started to pound cutely on his leg.

Naruto watched as Hinata giggled before he motioned for her to approach. When she did, he turned and presented, "Hinata, these are the guests I told you about. The redhead is Shepard, blue skin is Liara, and scaly is Garrus. You three, this is Hinata Hyuuga. The mother of Kurama."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shepard watched calmly as Naruto and Garrus played with Kurama. Garrus taking part was a surprise, but Shepard hadn't really known him for that long. Finding out he had a playful side and love of kids wasn't too unbelievable. Kurama also quickly developed a fondness of Garrus as well.

Finally finding their play getting boring, Shepard turned to look at Hinata again. Just looking at her made Shepard glad she had spent so long on her own looks that morning. Hinata was between Shepard and Liara, all three of them sitting on the ground.

Shepard was trying to be polite, but watching the serene and loving expression on Hinata's face as she watched Naruto and Kurama finally made her curiosity win. She questioned, "So how did you and Naruto have Kurama? Are you guys still in a relationship?"

Hinata looked at her with a small smile as she replied calmly, "I've always loved Naruto. Ever since I was a kid. After the war, I decided to act. I had confessed to him several months before, but things had been so hectic nothing had happened afterwards. We got together. It only lasted about a year, but it was the happiest time of my life. We found out about Kurama about half way through. We broke up just before Kurama was born though, so we aren't together anymore."

Displaying her greatest feat of strength ever, Shepard didn't ask the obvious question. Luckily, Liara did. "Why?" When Hinata's face showed a little bit of pain, Liara quickly continued, "I'm sorry if that is too personal. It's just that Naruto doesn't seem like the type of person to leave his child, and you clearly were happy in the relationship. I just don't get why it stopped."

Hinata waited a few moments before saying, "It is fine. Almost everyone knows why. I might as well tell you." Hinata took a deep breath before continuing, "I love Naruto. Of that, there is no question. When I was a girl, he was my source of strength. He was everything I wanted to be. I grew up with Naruto as the center of my universe. That has never changed, but I did gain some perspective when we started dating. For all my love, I couldn't repay Naruto for all the happiness he gave me during that time. Naruto is so strong, and I basically was a parasite. Always using him for strength and support. I couldn't do the same for him though. It just wasn't fair that he had to settle for me."

Liara quickly protested, "Everyone feels that way though when they are in love. That their partner deserves better."

Hinata shook her head sadly before continuing, "Naruto told me the same thing, but this was different. Naruto gave me more happiness than I had ever felt before, but it wasn't what I wanted. I didn't want to rely on Naruto for happiness. I wanted to make my own happiness. To do that, I had to be in a relationship where I provided just as much support and love as I receive."

Shepard's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. Finally she asked, "I'm sorry, but I just don't understand."

Hinata hugged her legs and set her head on her knees as she answered sadly, "I don't even understand sometimes. I have Kurama, who is the only reason I haven't gone crawling back to Naruto, and I have even started a different relationship with my teammate, Shino. He helps me, and I can help him. That is what I couldn't do with Naruto. I received, but could never give back. Yet…Nothing seems to have changed. I still love Naruto more than the world itself, and our feelings always overcome us when he's in Konoha. It might be wrong to say we aren't in a relationship. If anything, I think it would be most accurate to say I'm in two relationships."

Shepard coughed in shock when she heard that. Finally she asked, "What? And they are fine with that?"

Hinata looked slightly confused by Shepard's response as she claimed, "Well…yeah. Shino is part of the Aburame Clan. They tend to think about things differently than others. When I told him he might always be second to Naruto and Kurama, he said that it was natural. I believe his exact words were 'In nature, the larvae are always more important than the workers, and Naruto is comparable to a Queen. The entire hive revolves around it, and is subject to its desires.'"

Shepard waited several moments before asking, "And what the hell does that mean?"

Hinata giggled before explaining, "Sorry. I've gotten used to how he phrases stuff. The Aburame Clan uses hives of bugs implanted into their bodies at birth to battle. In their opinions, bugs are the most effective creatures in the world at surviving and continuing onto the next generation. What they do obviously must be the right thing to do. They seem to not be human in a way. Either they don't feel emotions like jealousy and anger or they ignore it. So Shino thought it completely natural that I would care about Kurama more than him and that I would love Naruto in a way he could never compete. And Naruto…well he is too nice. Anything that makes me happy, he would support without any hard feelings. Plus it isn't that unusual an arrangement."

Shepard sighed and put her face into her hands as she groaned, "So this planet supports polygamy too."

Hinata giggled before replying, "Not polygamy, really. It is just a ninja tradition. We put our lives on the line, and we very well might die any day. Doing what is necessary to achieve happiness during that time is obvious. Marriage is only really practiced in the clans. Other than that, we are in as many relationships for as long as it appeals to us. Partners don't care because we want each other to be happy. Usually we settle down with one partner if we have children or live to be a certain age. It is a slightly old and dated tradition from the ninja clan era, where many more ninjas died at a younger age. It isn't put into practice that often anymore, but we grow up with that mindset, so it still applies in the rare circumstances where it happens. Like CRA or a situation like mine."

Shepard tilted her head before repeating, "CRA?"

Hinata nodded before explaining, "Clan Restoration Act. Ninja clans usually have bloodlines or techniques specific to their members, so if a clan is ever down to one or two members, it is important the clan is restored. They are able to marry multiple people. It is very rare. Currently, I believe only two people in Konoha qualify."

Shepard immediately asked, "Who?"

Hinata jerked her head in Naruto's direction. After Shepard gasped from the implications, Hinata continued, "Naruto is the last of the Uzumaki clan. They are renown for their vitality and chakra reserves. Not to mention seals. The other one is Uchiha Sasuke, but he has decided to only take one wife."

Shepard shook her head in disbelief at the notion of Naruto taking multiple wives. Sure, he was a pervert around Tsunade, but he seemed a little too innocent for that. Not to mention Shepard found the idea of anyone taking multiple wives as unrealistic. Sure, divorces happen and people remarry, but polygamy just seemed so weird. She finally expressed it by stating, "I find the idea of Naruto finding multiple girls willing to share him as fanciful."

Hinata gave her a weird look before stating, "Really? I can think of at least ten girls off the top of my head who would be willing."

Shepard immediately protested, "What? No way."

Hinata nodded with a weird determination, as if defending Naruto was important to her, "Yeah. Naruto is really popular. He even has twins with a priestess in Demon Country."

Shepard deadpanned, "So he has even more kids."

Hinata nodded before informing her, "Yeah. He protected a priestess several years ago. Afterwards she asked him to father her kids because she wasn't allowed to marry. A boy and a girl. Taruho and Miroku, the name of her mother and a friend, I think."

Shepard put her head in her hands as she tried to grasp that idea. She heard Liara speak though, "Interesting. The Asari system is rather similar to this. Since we live such long lives, taking only one mate doesn't appeal to most Asari. Other species also have much shorter lives, so we have to deal with our mates dying long before we do. So we treasure the time and feelings from those relationships, but we then move on."

Before Hinata could reply, Shepard burst out, "I just don't get it. The Asari I can get. You outlive all other species except the Krogan, but I don't get this species doing it. What is so great about Naruto? I mean, he's a nice guy. Probably even a great guy from what we've heard, but why would girls be willing to share him."

Hinata seemed confused by her outburst, but told her regardless, "Because we all care about him. Naruto has suffered and overcome so much while saving so many people, that we want to give back to him anyway we can. Plus, there are certain…advantages to being with Naruto." Hinata finished with a blush on her face.

Shepard didn't get that though. She asked in a confused tone, "What do you mean? Does he have money?"

Hinata started stuttering(just imagine it cause I'm not writing it) and her face got more red as she answered, "Well…he has money, but it isn't that. He's nice, but he also has a lot of…energy. He fulfills you in so many way…He never gets tired…he's naturally…well gifted…and the clones. Oh my. Nothing can compare to the clones." Now Hinata's face was tomato red, and Shepard was blushing, finally realized what she was talking about. Even Liara looked away in embarrassment.

The three were interrupted by Naruto yelling with a huge grin, "Geez. And Tsunade-baachan calls me a pervert. She should talk to you, Hinata." Hinata eeped and buried her blushing face in her hands. Luckily Kurama quickly distracted Naruto.

Garrus soon walked over and plopped down. He soon spoke in a winded voice, "Geez, that kid just doesn't get tired."

"Sorry for making you play with Kurama, Garrus," Hinata quickly responded to his comment.

Garrus just waved his hand before claiming, "No problem. Used to play with my little sister the same way before I joined C-Sec. It was actually kind of fun. A nice way to relieve some stress that had built up."

"Never took you for a kid person, Garrus," Shepard teased.

Garrus just shrugged before responding easily, "You'd be surprised. After spending almost a decade dealing with criminals and scumbags day in and day out, the innocence of a child is downright refreshing. Even if he has enough energy to run circles around me."

There talk was interrupted when Naruto walked over with a struggling Kurama slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He then informed the group, "I sensed the others arriving together. They'll be here in a few moments."

True to his words, a large group quickly appeared from the trees. Once they stopped in front of them, Naruto announced, "I guess I'm in charge of the introduction. Guys, these are our alien visitors that you've no doubt hear of. This is Jane Shepard, Garrus Vakarian, and Liara T'Soni." Shepard saw the group quickly look them over. She also took the chance to examine them when Naruto continued.

"This is Kiba Inuzuka, and Akamaru. His nin-dog."

Kiba was a remarkably feral looking person with rather sharp teeth, red marks on his cheeks, and slit pupils. He had brown hair, and appeared to be about Naruto's age. Akamru was a huge white dog. Kiba nodded and spoke, "Hey." Shepard quickly returned a short greeting.

"Shino Aburame."

Shino was a rather tall person who seemed to put an effort into showing as little skin as possible. A large coat had a collar which covered his mouth, a hood which covered his hair, and he wore a pair of sunglasses. Hinata was also standing at his side, although Kurama stayed near Naruto's leg. Shepard nodded uneasily at the person, remembering Hinata said that he apparently had bugs in his body.

"Shikamaru Nara, and his wife Shiho."

Shepard examined these two slightly closer due to knowing that these two were apparently among the most intelligent in this world. Shikamaru managed to give off a feeling that screamed lazy. His black hair was up in a spiky ponytail, and he had rather narrow eyes. Shiho had light blonde hair that had a number of stray hairs, wore a set of thick glasses, and seemed to be wearing a white doctors coat. Shiho was hiding behind an annoyed Shikamaru, who muttered about something being troublesome.

"Ino Yamanaka"

Ino was a cheery blonde with her hair done up in a ponytail, except for a single bang which covered one of her light blue eyes. Shepard immediately noticed her provocative clothing that emphasized her womanly curves, although she was more slender than the Hokage and Hinata. She greeted the trio enthusiastically.

"Chouji Akamichi."

Chouji was a large boy with a long mane of red hair and wearing a peculiar set of red armor. He also seemed to be in the middle of eating a large bag of chips. He just nodded at the trio.

"Neji Hyuuga, Hinata's cousin."

Neji was a remarkably feminine looking man. His dark brown hair was longer and more well cared for then Shepard's. He was dressed in a loose kimono like outfit. Shepard also noticed that he had eyes very similar to Hinata's, with his lacking the slight lavender tint of Hinata's. It made him look to be blind. He gave a very dignified greeting to the three.

"Rock Lee."

Shepard once again decided that this was clearly a different species than her own. Lee seemed to have perfectly round eyes, and the thickest pair of eyebrows she had ever seen. His black hair was cut into a bowl haircut. He was wearing a horrendous green jumpsuit, with orange leg warmers, bandages covering his hands and forearms, and a lighter green vest. He gave a very loud and enthusiastic greeting.

"Tenten."

Tenten was a cute girl with brown eyes, and grown hair done up in two buns on her head. She was wearing a white blouse, and a burgundy hakama. Interestingly, she also had a large scroll hanging on her back from a sling she had around her shoulders.

"And you've already seen Gaara, Temari, and Kankurou."

Shepard was surprised at seeing the Kazekage, but managed to not let it show. After the introductions were finished, the group split up into several smaller groups. Shikamaru had laid down by the nearest tree and apparently went to sleep. Shiho had followed him, but was quickly drawn into conversation by Liara. Chouji had also followed, leaning against the tree as he ate his chips. Ino gathered Temari, Tenten, and Hinata together before dragging them a small distance away to talk. Lee approached Garrus and started screaming about youthful fire or something to the terrified Turian. Shepard felt like she should help Garrus, but eventually decided it wasn't worth it. She instead went over to the last group. It consisted of Naruto, Neji, Kiba, Shino, Gaara, and Kankurou.

As she approached, she heard Naruto questioning, "So neither Sakura or Sasuke decided to come? Are you sure you told them, Kiba?"

A slightly irritated Kiba immediately answered, "Yes, I made sure to tell them. If they didn't come, it isn't from not knowing."

Shepard saw Naruto looking sad as he ran his fingers through his hair. He finally commented, "Sorry if I sounded like I was accusing you, Kiba. I am just upset that they didn't come. I haven't seen either of them for years."

Shepard finally interjected herself into the group by asking, "Sorry, but who are these two? Sakura and Sasuke?"

Naruto quickly explained in a tense voice, "My former teammates. Genin are placed onto squads with two other genin and a jounin instructor. Kakashi was our instructor."

Shepard raised an eyebrow before asking, "So why didn't they come to see you?"

"It seems logical that the two feel awkward about meeting Naruto again," Shino said in a calm voice. His words made Naruto grimace.

"Why?" Shepard felt guilty from asking, but she just didn't understand.

Neji was the one who started explaining, "Sasuke defected from the village about seven years ago to join a traitor. Naruto fought him about two years ago. After defeating him, he brought him back to the village. Sakura and Sasuke announced their engagement several months ago."

Shepard was still confused, although she could see why meeting with Sasuke might be awkward. Luckily, Kiba bluntly added, "Naruto liked Sakura for years. Brought Sasuke back just because he had promised her he would. Even confessed right afterwards. She told him no." Shepard flinched, now seeing why the two talking would be awkward. Kiba wasn't done though, "And he didn't exactly bring Sasuke back in good condition. One of his Sharingan were destroyed in their battle, and he ended up giving the other one to Naruto. For doujutsu users, that might as well be death."

Now clearly seeing the pain written on Naruto's face, Shepard changed the subject by asking, "What is this Sharingan? You mentioned it several times last night, but you haven't actually explained what it is."

"Really? I was sure I did." Naruto commented as he got into a thinking posture. He finally shrugged before continuing, "I guess we should rectify that. Neji, I think you would be best suited to explain to her about doujutsu."

Neji seemed slightly annoyed, but quickly erased all emotion from his face before informing Shepard, "Doujutsu are a type of kekkei genkai, or Bloodline Limits. A Bloodline Limit is a genetic trait which is passed down through the blood of certain individuals. These traits allow the user to utilize chakra in ways ordinarily impossible for others. Doujutsu, or Eye Techniques, are Bloodline Limits which affect the eyes." Suddenly, the veins around his eyes bulged, and a pupil became visible. Shepard backed up slightly at the intimidating sight, suddenly feeling like his eyes could see everything about her. Negi didn't react to her discomfort, just continuing, "The Hyuuga are known for our doujutsu, the Byakugan. With it we gain a 360 degree field of vision, are able to see through walls and other solid objects, telescopic vision, and the ability to see chakra. I am easily able to see 800 meters in all directions, while Hinata is capable of seeing over 10 kilometers in a single direction." Neji then deactivated his Byakugan.

Shepard blinked in utter shock and awe. If what he was saying is true, and he had little reason to lie, then Shepard could see the pure combat potential such an ability would allow. Being able to place all the enemy positions on a battlefield, spot ambushes or snipers. It would completely remove the element of surprise from any plans the enemies might try. Even the most advanced scanners couldn't do that, since most suits could be modified to hide the wearers from any scanning equipment. He might even be able to spot people under camouflage.

She did her best to control herself, but couldn't hide her eagerness as she turned to Naruto and asked, "So I assume this 'Sharingan' grants you similar abilities?"

Naruto shrugged before responding easily, "Somewhat, but the two are quite different. The Byakugan is most suited for scouting purposes, although the Hyuuga have found multiple ways to use it in battle. However, the Byakugan can't compare to the Sharingan in battle, due to the multiple abilities it grants that are meant for battle. The Sharingan isn't able to see through objects, has a field of vision only slightly wider than normal eyes, and lacks telescopic vision. It does give an incredible boost in perception, to the point where its user is capable of predictive capabilities. The Sharingan gives the user a photographic memory when it is active. The user also gains vastly enhanced reflexes when it is activated, due to the increased neural activity. Like the Byakugan, the Sharingan is capable of seeing chakra. A Sharingan user is also able to copy any action which they are physically capable of by using these skills whether they be fighting styles or even a person's handwriting. The perception allows even the tiniest movements to become obvious, we are able to examine how chakra is shaped and molded in techniques, and the photographic memory allows us to recall it all perfectly."

"An ability many people disregard, which I have found to be the most useful, is the Sharingan's ability in genjutsu. By meeting a person's eyes with it, I can hypnotize a person. I can plant thoughts and suggestions in their minds, which most genjutsu users aren't capable of. Or I can use eye contact to perform other genjutsu, like putting the target to sleep, induce paralysis, or create various illusions."

Shepard once again had to contain her awe at the explanation. The various things it granted all had enormous potential, but the hypnotic ability was possibly the most dangerous. Planting thoughts and suggestions in others just through eye contact. The amount of damage that might cause if abused was enormous. Not to mention illusions. Shepard guessed that was what he had done the previous night when he showed them the Kyuubi attack.

"Do you think you can show me this Sharingan? I would also request that you demonstrate this ability for hypnotism, if you don't mind?" she requested.

Naruto got into a thinking position for several moments before nodding and saying, "Sure, this is actually a good time to figure out more about how your bodies react to chakra. Neji, do you think you can observe how my chakra reacts when I insert it into her body. I tested out if genjutsu would work on her yesterday, but I didn't want to risk keeping it up too long, if her body reacted negatively."

Neji nodded, and activated his Byakugan. Naruto nodded before turning back to Shepard and asking, "Are you ready? I'll do several different tests. First, I shall do more overt genjutsu."

Shepard nodded, and prepared herself for something to happen. She watched as Naruto's left eye changed into the same form as yesterday. She examined it for several moments before trying to see if the genjutsu had taken effect. She immediately decided it had when she felt herself being restrained. She turned her head and saw a tree, a frickin tree, was binding her. Figuring this was the illusion, Shepard immediately felt amazement. It was so real. She felt the bark against her skin, smelled the slightly sweet scent it was giving off, and even heard the leaves rustling in a wind. If it's branches weren't formed in such ways that they restrained her entire upper body, she would believe it was real. She half expected it to disappear as soon as she realized it was an illusion, but it stayed. Frowning, she tried to move, but it still held. Now firmly irritated at the illusion that didn't seem like an illusion, she started struggling fiercely. The tree held steady though. She finally gave up and looked at the clearly amused Naruto. The tree soon disappeared into nothing. Shepard stumbled slightly as a sense of vertigo gripped her before she regained her balance. Shepard started rubbing her arms where she felt a lingering phantom pain from rubbing herself against the rough bark, but her skin was completely smooth when she looked.

She finally murmured, "That was far more impressive than I had thought. I figured the illusion would be fragile, but it was as if it was real."

Naruto nodded before explaining, "Genjutsu work by manipulating the brain. The brain controls everything. By manipulating your brain to believe a tree was there, you weren't able to act in ways that contradict the situation your brain was convinced was real. Neji, what did you see?"

Neji replied without turning off his Byakugan, "It is actually quite fascinating. Her brain structure is almost completely the same as our own, although there are several very small differences along with the usual microscopic differences between individuals. The brains of the other two are also very similar. The strong similarities between our brains allow genjutsu to work on them. In fact, their lack of chakra seem to make them more effective since they don't have the natural resistance to chakra that we do. One thing that worries me though is how the chakra interacted with her body after you stopped the genjutsu. Her body absorbed it, causing a brief disruption in her blood flow and I suspect neural activity. This probably resulted in a brief moment of vertigo." The two looked at Shepard for confirmation.

She blinked in thought before nodding and answering, "There was a brief moment where I felt off balance. I thought it was normal."

Neji nodded before continuing, "Her body clearly reacted to the chakra. Luckily, genjutsu uses so little chakra that any harmful side effects were limited. Larger doses of chakra might have other effects that I can't predict. Continue, and I'll try to see anything I missed."

Naruto nodded and turned to Shepard. She briefly met that blood red eye he had before focusing on his face. He had a thinking look for several moments before he muttered, "I'm not sure if I should. Not only could it possibly have harmful side effects, but this is also a very powerful ability. I shouldn't give away this information yet."

Shepard frowned. She should offer him a reward for doing it. He was right. This was a powerful ability to just give away information on. It was only fair. She quickly told him, "I'll reward you if you do."

Naruto smirked before asking, "What kind of reward? What can you possibly do for me?" Shepard's mind was immediately flooded with some very racy and perverted ideas on what she could do for him. She blushed heavily before fixing him with a glare. He just grinned before continuing, "I see you realized. Did you realize that I used it on you twice?"

Shepard blinked in confusion before she exclaimed softly, "The reward."

Naruto nodded before enlightening her, "Yes. See, there are several restrictions on the ability. Simply put, I simply put a thought into another person's head with a small desire to follow it. A sufficiently smart person might be able to see fault with the thought though, and decide to not act on it. This also means if I implant a thought that didn't fit their previous line of thought or implant a thought that is too outrageous or out of behavior, they can realize that I implanted the thought into their minds. You followed the idea of a reward because it was a reasonable response to my words. When I placed several more outrageous ideas in your head, you realized what I was doing. There is a technique which manipulates the victims memory and places a stronger compulsion on the person to make them follow the thought, but it is now impossible following the war. So you can stop thinking about me manipulating you or anyone else."

Shepard blinked before questioning, "So now you can read minds?"

Naruto just snorted before replying with a smirk, "Please. Any intelligent person who heard about this technique would obviously worry about it being abused."

Shepard blushed at that. Luckily Negi interrupted to inform them, "The same thing occurred. The fact that this technique uses even less chakra then regular genjutsu stopped the vertigo from occurring. I would recommend asking for Tsunade's assistance though. I don't have the medical knowledge to know whether the chakra is causing any damage to her body when it is absorbed."

Naruto nodded before commenting, "I guess that is the best option. For all we know, our chakra might be poison to her body. I don't think we should leave it up to chance. Shepard, do you mind if I take you three to Tsunade for a checkup after this. She's renown as the best medic in the world. She'll be able to find out if anything is wrong."

Shepard thought for several moments. Although she didn't feel sick or anything, she really shouldn't risk it. If there was any delayed effect, she'd rather know about it. She also didn't really have anything else to do until the Normandy was able to send another ship to pick her up. She finally nodded as an answer.

Naruto grinned as he exclaimed, "Great, we'll do that later. Let's forget the serious stuff for now though. Let's just have fun."

Shepard had to grin slightly at the ever cheerful Naruto. He could get serious, but Shepard just knew that Naruto was at his most natural with a grin on his face. She also liked the cheerful Naruto better.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Naruto was tense as he lead the trio towards the Hokage tower. Although he was confident in the decision the kage had made, it didn't stop this moment from being a turning point for his species. This decision would have far reaching effects that they would have to take responsibility for, god or bad. They were about to make history.

It was the day after the picnic with his friends. After the serious beginning, the rest of that time had been very fun. Naruto ended up getting into a brawl with both Kiba and Lee at the same time, but they were forced to stop after they knocked over a tree. He had a nice talks with Gaara, Temari, and Kankurou. The group had then gone to a barbeque place to eat, the group denied Naruto's request to eat at Ichiraku Ramen.

Afterwards, things had gotten serious again. Naruto had taken the three aliens to Tsunade, who delighted in the opportunity to escape her paperwork and study three alien species. That night she had used her diagnostic jutsu to understand the alien's basic physiology and how their bodies were reacting to her chakra. She then went into a whole spiel of science mumbo jumbo that only Liara really understood about what chakra actually is. Naruto managed to pick up the general idea though.

Apparently the planet exuded a type of radiation. This radiation seemed to cause three unique chemical processes that each produce a different type of isotope. One of these isotopes is actually produced in the brain of animals. This isotope apparently absorbs electrical energy from the synapses firing around it, and release the energy referred to as Yin Release, or spiritual energy. The next isotope is formed in the muscles of all living things. This isotope takes the electrical energy from the bodies nervous system, and releases the energy referred to as Yang Release, or physical energy. Their bodies also seemed to have adapted to these energy sources in a very unique way. Apparently, the training of their bodies causes more of the isotope located there to be produced at a faster rate, which then draws more electrical energy to produce more physical energy. High levels of brain activity also increases the production of the isotope in the brain, drawing more electrical energy to produce more spiritual energy. Their nervous system would soon shut down from lack of electrical energy is not for an adaptation they seemed to have. When their nervous system started suffering from a lack of electrical energy, it seemed to automatically produce more. Technically, a shinobi's nervous system nervous system produces electricity on a scale the alien's can't possibly compare. So much electrical energy is running through their nervous systems that it would literally fry their neurons if it wasn't absorbed by these isotopes. Which is why a lack of chakra causes death. The isotopes in their body can only produce a certain amount of the energy in a certain time period. If too much of this energy is produced in a limited time, like during battle, the isotopes actually slow in their production of this energy. If this process slows too much, not enough energy is drawn from their nervous systems. When too much energy is left in their nervous systems, it fries itself. Naturally, a destroyed nervous system is equivalent to death.

The third isotope is actually produced in plants. The plants then absorb energy the plant generates during photosynthesis to produce another type of energy. Natural energy. Naruto also questioned Tsunade about the chakra the Bijuu use. Apparently, there was even an answer to that. The chakra of the Bijuu was a combination of all three, almost similar to Naruto's Sage chakra. All living things release the energy they produce into the atmosphere, which mixes together in a way a sage can never manage. The Bijuu, or more specifically, the Ten Tails was formed when that energy reached a concentration level where it formed a shape. This also explained why the Bijuu couldn't be killed. Even if their body was destroyed, their remaining chakra simply absorbed some from the atmosphere till they had enough to once again take shape.

After learning all this, Liara almost immediately came up with a theory. She stated the possibility that these three isotopes were isotopes of Eezo, or Element Zero. The Omni-Tool wasn't advanced enough to reach a definitive result, so it was mainly based on similar characteristics. Apparently Eezo is a substance where, if an electrical charge is run through it, an energy is released which can be used to create a mass effect field. A field where mass can be either raised or lowered. This caused a discussion on what the energy the isotopes release can be used for. Apparently, physical energy can actually create matter from nothing. Spiritual energy can actually alter the laws that govern the universe within a small area. When these are used together, shinobi are able to do things that should be impossible. Natural energy was harder since Tsunade claimed it was such a rare art that little research had been done on it. She theorized though that natural energy simply made it easier to control the other energies. So it isn't that Natural energy empowered his chakra, he just gained so much more control over it that his power reached a different level. Made sense, it isn't like senjutsu really worked any different than regular jutsu. He just gained the ability to take all his techniques up a notch. It must have just been because his control had increased to a ridiculous level.

Liara had then gone on to explain how amazing this all was. Apparently the Asari and Salarians have been attempting and failing for thousands of years to find a way to produce Eezo or an isotope of it. The fact that not one, not two, but three isotopes had appeared naturally on this planet was nothing short of miraculous.

Naruto swore the two could have discussed it for hours if he hadn't stepped in. He had to remind Tsunade why they had come. To find out if chakra was harmful to them. Tsunade had quickly assured them it wasn't. If they ever came into contact with a concentrated amount of the isotopes, they might develop cancer. The energy itself wasn't inherently harmful to them though. Liara had quickly agreed due to the fact that Eezo could cause cancer as well, but mass effect fields weren't harmful. After all, their entire system of interstellar travel relied on mass effect field being used on entire ships of people. Naturally, destructive chakra like chakra that had undergone nature transformation would still destroy them though. The only issue was that their bodies didn't have a resistance to chakra, so any technique used on them would be more potent. The healing chakra felt extra good and the genjutsu took longer to dissolve.

Naruto would have been happy with just that, but Tsunade hadn't been. She had asked, more like demanded, that they come the next day to provide DNA samples for her to examine using technology instead of chakra. Naruto had literally spent the entire morning sitting in a room as Tsunade went crazy over the results. They had gone out to lunch before messengers had arrived calling them to the kage chamber.

As Naruto led the trio, he was asked multiple times what the kages had decided. He kept his mouth shut though till they reached the chamber. The kages were already there. Naruto walked away from the trio of aliens to lean on a wall before observing the proceedings.

Gaara was the one who asked, "Shepard. Are you ready to hear the decision of the five kages?"

Shepard gulped before nodding. She then muttered, "Yes, I'm ready." The kages nodded together. Tsunade was the one to stand and start speaking.

"It is the decision of this group that…we shall agree to meet with your council." Naruto watched as Shepard let out a sigh of relief. Tsunade then continued, "We have also decided to send our own people on your ship to meet with them on your Citadel. Naruto shall be the leader of the group, but this shall be a coordinated effort on the part of the five kages. As such, we shall each send several shinobi from each of our villages to accompany him. Raikage, why don't you start?"

A stood before announcing, "I shall send Mabui and Samui. Mabui is used to organizing large amounts of data and planning schedules. Considering that this might take months, both will be useful. Samui is also a qualified sensor, which could prove useful. Kazekage."

Gaara stood and announced simply, "I shall only send Temari. She acted as our ambassador to Konoha for several years, and thus is used to political negotiations. Tsuchikage."

Kurotsuchi stood before announcing, "I shall go myself to represent Iwa. We will need several powerful political representatives in order to better represent the Elemental Nations. Mizukage."

Mei stood with a smile before claiming, "I also agree with the Tsuchikage. So I shall also be attending these negotiations myself. Hokage."

Tsunade stood and looked towards Naruto before saying, "I shall leave Konoha's choice up to Naruto. He shall be heading the mission, and knows our shinobi. Ask for whoever you wish to accompany you, within reason of course."

Naruto sighed and straightened. He took a moment to think before answering, "I would ask for both Shikamaru and Shiho. Their intelligence could prove valuable when interacting with the alien technology. I would also like to ask for a Hyuuga. A Byakugan could prove invaluable."

Tsunade nodded before replying, "Neji's Byakugan has surpassed even Tokuma's. I could also Tenten for extra security. I think it best Lee isn't sent with them. If that is alright with the other kage." The other kage quickly agreed.

Naruto nodded before commenting, "That means there is a total of ten, including myself. That seems like a good solid number. Not too little or too many." The kage nodded in agreement.

"Shepard. When will your ship arrive?"

Shepard quickly responded, "My pilot gave an estimate of three days."

Naruto nodded before saying, "Okay. There is little need for the five kage to remain here to see us off. I suggest the Kazekage and Raikage return to their villages, and the Tsuchikage and Mizukage clear up any issues and establish a replacement for their absence." The meeting quickly broke up after that.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shepard found herself at the village gate three days later. According to Joker, they had finally adjusted the Normandy to handle the magnetic field. Naturally Liara and Garrus were with her, as was Naruto and all those who were joining him. Several others had also shown up. Tsunade and Kakashi had both arrived to see them off, not to mention a number of the people she had met at the picnic.

"Commander, I can come down anytime. Just give me the coordinates of the landing sight, and I'll be there before you can say 'snappy.'"

Shepard quickly replied to the Omni-Tool, "Understood. I'll send you the coordinated in a few minutes." After deactivating the Omni-Tool, she turned to Naruto and asked, "So where do you plan to have the Normandy land?"

Naruto turned to her and quickly told her, "There is a large field a few miles to the southeast. It is slightly uneven terrain, but it is the largest area without trees in the immediate area."

Shepard frowned before telling him, "The Normandy can't land on uneven terrain."

Naruto just gave her a grin before responding, "Kurotsuchi can handle that. We just need to get there first. That, I can handle."

Shepard jumped when a clone popped into existence behind her. Before she could move away, the clone swept her up into a princess carry. Shepard blushed before preparing to demand he put her down. She was cut off though when the clone started running before jumping into the air. Shepard, to her eternal shame, soon found herself gripping the clone's shoulders and burying her face in its chest as it literally sped through the forest by jumping off branches. Her fear made it all rush by, but in reality this only happened for several minutes before the clone landed at the edge of a field. The entire group seemed to have beaten them there, and by quite a bit if their bored faces were anything to go by.

Shepard stumbled a bit once the clone set her back on her feet, naturally disorientated by the whole experience. Once she snapped out of it though, she delivered a quick punch to the clone, making it puff away into smoke. She then turned with a scowl towards the grinning Naruto. She pointed at him before angrily exclaiming, "You could have given me some warning."

Naruto just shot that infuriating smirk at her before replying, "You wouldn't have approved if I had, and I didn't want to wait for you guys to walk here."

Shepard couldn't quite deny that this way was faster, but she still angrily turned her back on the blonde. She looked towards Garrus and Liara to see how they reacted. Garrus seemed just as annoyed as her, being carried like that probably didn't sit too well with the proud Turian, but Liara just seemed embarrassed.

Finally regaining control of herself, she turned back around towards Naruto and asked, "So what now?"

Naruto thought for a moment before questioning, "We'll need to know how big your ship is, and how large an area it needs to land."

Shepard nodded before answering, "The Normandy is about 55 meters long, but it needs a bit more area than that to land. Joker, our pilot, is the best though. He can probably land it if he had an area of 100 meters by 50 meters. It will be safer and easier to land the larger the landing area is though."

Naruto turned to Kurotsuchi and commented, "Then I suggest we make it 300 meters by 100 meters."

Kurotsuchi just scowled before replying, "Then you come and help, Blondie. I don't feel like working up a sweat, and you got chakra to spare."

Shepard grinned in glee at the grimace on Naruto's face. It was two days before that Naruto had introduced them to Kurotsuchi in an unofficial setting. It seemed the Tsuchikage was not one to behave properly in unofficial settings. On the contrary, she seemed to take a particularly pleasure in annoying Naruto and referring to him by rather demeaning nicknames. Shepard had a feeling that she was actually just crushing on the blonde, but Shepard certainly wasn't going to say that out loud. She'd seen what this species considers normal, and she wasn't interested in dying just because this species didn't realize not everyone could be punched through a wall without a mark to show for it. Shepard did enjoy the annoyance Kurotsuchi caused in the blonde though. Shepard found Naruto to be nice and fun to be around, but she did not like how much the blonde seemed to enjoy teasing her.

Naruto sighed and joined Kurotsuchi in front of the group. Shepard watched as the two made those weird hand signs in unison before both slammed their open plams onto the ground and shouted together, "Earth Release: Earth-Style Rampart." Shepard then watched as a huge chunk of earth rose at least twenty meters in the air. Shepard swiveled her head with wide eyes to see that the rampart was at least 300 meters. The edges of it were also remarkably smooth. After the huge rampart stopped rising, Naruto stepped back and gave Kurotsuchi more room. The Tsuchikage made a few more hand seals before silently slamming her hands to the ground again. This time, the earth rose in segments to create a perfect set of stone stairs leading to the top of the platform.

With it done, Kurotsuchi let out a sigh and wiped a few beads of sweat from her forehead. She then claimed in an annoyed voice, "I've been stuck doing paperwork too long if I worked up a sweat from just that. I'm out of shape."

Shepard shook her head at that. That was rusty? Naruto had already explained that the kage were the most powerful shinobi on the planet, but still? This entire species seemed to behave as if the laws of the universe don't apply to them, which they sort of don't if you consider their chakra. Chakra allows them to make the laws of physics their bitch. Shepard slapped herself as soon as she thought that. She was starting to crack from all this magic going on around her.

Naruto obviously didn't realize her thoughts. He just turned and said, "That should be large enough. You can send the coordinates."

Shepard decided to ignore her thoughts and just nodded. She activated the Omni-Tool and spoke into it, "Joker, this is Shepard. Come to the coordinates I'm sending you. The area you can land is pretty clear."

"Got it, Commander."

After that it only took several minutes for Joker to arrive. The shinobi watched intently as the Normandy appeared in the sky. The Alliance frigate swooped down from the clouds like a bird. It circled the large platform several times before the ship came down to elegantly settle on the large platform of earth.

The group on the ground started up the stairs as soon as the ship had settled. They reached the top as a bottom portion of the Normandy lowered to reveal a ramp. A group of four was walking down it to meet them. Shepard couldn't hold back the grin at the sight of them.

"Wrex, Tali, Kaidan, Ashley."

The four headed straight towards her. After stopping right in front of her, Kaidan commented in a joking voice, "Good to see you, Commander. Feels like we've been circling this planet for months waiting to pick you up."

Shepard shrugged before replying, "It wasn't too bad for us down here. Many new experiences. Still, I'm ready to get back to our mission. We just need to drop these guys of at the Citadel."

Kaidan nodded and looked at Naruto and the others before commenting cautiously, "Yes. It is interesting to finally see them after all we've heard."

Shepard nodded and turned to look at Naruto again. She immediately saw that he was looking at her with an intense look that made her feel like he could see her thoughts. Fighting against the feeling, she spoke up, "I guess it is my turn to do the introductions. Guys, this is Naruto Uzumaki. He is in charge of the group we are transporting to the Citadel. Naruto, these are a few members of my crew. This is Urdnot Wrex, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, Ashely Williams, and Kaidan Alenko."

Naruto shook hands with Alenko, but only exchanged a nod with a suspicious looking Ashley. He stopped in front of Tali though and tilted his head. The Quarian shifted nervously under his scrutiny. Shepard wondered what the blonde was thinking.

Naruto finally smiled and commented, "You're really pretty, Tali. It is a shame that you have to wear that mask." Shepard blinked in shock before seeing that Naruto had activated his Sharingan. Apparently it allowed him to see through the tinted mask. Shepard almost felt annoyed. Almost every species harbors a great curiosity on what Quarians look like, and he comes and is just able to see the answer immediately. A certain part of her brain, which she usually kept firmly suppressed, was raging at the unfairness of it.

She had to cover her mouth to hold in her laughter though when she saw an embarrassed Tali stuttering. The young Quarian finally managed to squeak out a thank you before she tried to subtly position herself behind Shepard to escape from her embarrassment. Naruto didn't seem bothered by her embarrassment, Shepard even had a feeling he was probably rather gleeful with the Quarian's embarrassment over his comment. Instead he just turned towards Wrex and crossed his arms. Shepard immediately felt the tension rise as the two powerful predators stared each other down.

"So you are a Krogan. I've heard quite a bit about your species," Naruto commented in a surprisingly cold voice.

Wrex just grunted, "And?"

Naruto didn't reply for several moments. Then his face changed completely. His mouth cured into a shit eating grin and a fierce and excited glint entered his eyes. He then declared, "And I am so going to see if you match up to all the hype I've heard these past few days!"

Wrex seemed slightly surprised by the declaration, but he soon smiled as well, showing off his sharp and jagged teeth. He then turned to Shepard and claimed, "I like this species already, Shepard. They've got quads." Shepard shook her head in exasperation at their behavior, but at least it is interesting.

"Hey, have you forgotten about us?" a voice called out in an annoyed voice.

Shepard chuckled as she saw that they had forgotten the others. A quick introduction followed. After that, things moved quickly. The shinobi that were coming with them said quick good byes before walking onto the ship.

Slightly surprised at their nonchalance, Shepard moved to Naruto's side and questioned, "Aren't you going nervous to be leaving your planet? We are heading into space?"

Naruto just turned to her with a bright grin before immediately responding, "I'm not nervous. This is just the beginning of a whole new beginning, and I can't wait for it to start." Shepard could hide a small blush at his smile, but soon grinned as well. His enthusiasm is contagious. She was starting to feel excited herself. The start of a whole new beginning. She kind of liked the sound of that.

**There it is.**

**Yes, Naruto had a kid with Hinata. I don't particularly like the pairing, but i decided to do that. I also used the opportunity to adjust how quickly Naruto's species grows. The fact that they start training at eight to become shinobi is crazy. Do you all remember what you were like at eight? Then you have to consider Kakashi who was five when he became a genin. Insanity. Most five year olds have difficulty speaking in complete sentences, much less becoming a soldier. So i think it is reasonable to think that their species ages extremely fast as an adaptation to the constant fighting.**

**Yes, i gave Naruto the Sharingan. He also has the Rinnegan and Juubi's eyes. This is a godlike Naruto, but he won't be whipping all these things out willy nilly. He's going to be cautious when using these things. Sasuke and Sakura won't be mentioned often. I don't like either of them.**

**I had originally been planning to just say fuck it, chakra exists in this universe because i say so. Didn't want to justify how it exists, but somehow i ended up doing it. I am not a science person, i am a political science major. If any one dares to complain about it being a stupid explanation of what chakra is, i shall slap you through the internet. Those of you who like the explanation, yay for you. Those of you who think it is stupid and unrealistic, i officially call upon my power as the author of this story to ignore all reason and do what i want.**

**I have little doubt many of you will also ask about pairings. This is almost certainly going to turn into a harem, but Naruto isn't going to romance literally every girl in the Mass Effect universe. Right now i'm thinking Shepard, Tali, and Liara for Mass Effect. I'm not sure about Ashley. He'll also become involved with Kurotsuchi, Temari, and Samui. I'm unsure about Mei, Mabui, and Tenten. Then whoever else i feel like adding as i write this story. It's a benefit of being the author.**

**Okay, i think that is all i have to say. Hope you enjoyed.**


	3. Meeting the Council

_**No update, this is just the corrected version of this chapter by my new beta, Vandenbz. So hopefully most of my spelling errors and grammatical mistakes are fixed.**_

**Here is the third chapter of Shinobi, Aliens, and a Blonde Maelstrom. I was shocked by how much feedback I got for this story. Almost a hundred reviews. I guess everyone loves Mass Effect.**

**Took a little longer than I had expected because I got distracted, as usual. I got tired of relying on Mass Effect wiki, so I started replaying the game. It rocks, but I forgot how long the games are. I just beat Feros. I did actually find several mistakes in what I had already written, but I was too lazy to correct them. For anyone who is familiar with the first game, just ignore them.**

**Enjoy.**

"You'll be staying here. Sorry for the lack of space and comfort, but the Normandy isn't really built for that," Shepard told the group.

Naruto just waved his hand and replied, "No worries. We're all used to sleeping outside during missions. Give us enough room to lay down in sleeping bags and we're good." Naruto then looked around at the storage room where they would be staying.

After the ship had set off, Shepard had given the group a very quick tour around the ship and shown them the important areas like the mess hall and the bathrooms. Naruto could immediately tell that this was a military ship. There simply wasn't enough room or comforts for it to be meant for anything other than professional business. In the end, they would have to make do with the metal floor of the storage area. Shepard was really lucky that they were ninjas. Naruto had to chuckle at the thought of how the daimyos would act if they were told they had to sleep on the floor.

Shepard nodded before claiming, "Alright, I should go and address any problems that occurred when I was gone. You can find me if you have any questions or problems. You can also ask any other crew members." She then turned and left slowly.

Once she was gone, Naruto turned to the group and shrugged before telling them, "Alright, you can do what you want for now. Relax, explore the ship more, or talk to some of the crew. Just make sure you are ready for any unexpected troubles to arise. I'm going to handle some things that need to be done." The group nodded.

Naruto quickly strode towards the elevator (which was insanely slow by the way), and rode up. He then walked up the stairs to the command deck. He quickly crossed it till he was standing near the pilot's chair. Joker looked at him quickly, but didn't stop pushing the buttons necessary to whatever he was doing.

"Anything I can help with?" Joker questioned without looking at Naruto.

Naruto shrugged before replying, "I just wanted to see the planet from space before leaving. Apparently, looking at a planet is quite a view."

"Then you're lucky. I'm just about to finish planning our route to the Citadel. This will be your last opportunity for a while," Joker informed him with a nod.

Naruto didn't reply, instead choosing to use the opportunity to look on his homeworld. It looked…small. It was a difficult thought, to know everything precious to you is almost inconsequential to the larger galaxy. Still, Naruto had somewhat grown used to the thought after learning about the whole galactic civilization thing. Instead, Naruto took this opportunity to examine his planet. The single massive continent that constituted most of the world's land mass. The large number of islands close to it that constituted a large number of different minor countries. Naruto could even identify where most of the individual countries were. It matched all the maps Naruto had seen, but it was still such a different perspective that Naruto was mesmerized.

"Sorry, but I've finished calculating our route to the Citadel. The Commander has also given the order to set off as soon as possible," Joker announced to Naruto.

Naruto blinked for a moment before nodding and replying, "Alright. Go on ahead. I'll just watch, if that isn't a problem?"

"Not at all. This will only take a few minutes anyway," Joker answered. Naruto watched as Joker pushed a few more buttons. It was only Naruto's awareness that allowed him to detect the subtle change in themovements of the Normandy. A quick look out of the glass showed that the outside of the ship seemed to be surrounded in a blue energy. Any further observations were cut off when Joker spoke into a small microphone which projected his voice throughout the Normandy, "We have just entered FTL speed, and are heading towards the nearest mass relay. ETA for the Citadel is 69 hours." Joker then relaxed back into his seat.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at Joker's inactivity before asking, "Is that it?"

"Well, yeah," Joker replied with a carefree shrug before explaining, "The difficult part is planning the most efficient route. It is actually far more difficult than going from point A to point B. For the rest of the trip, minor adjustments just have to be made every five minutes or so due to small variables. Managing the Eezo core, heat management, thruster output, other boring things. Most of the others can handle that. Otherwise, the only difficult parts are landing the ship and handling it if we ever get into more difficult situations."

"I see…sort of," Naruto commented with a thoughtful look.

Joker took the opportunity to spin his chair around to look at Naruto. After a quick look, he remarked, "Nice to finally meet you, Naruto. So you are a guy!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion before retorting, "I hope that isn't meant to be an insult."

Joker quickly held up his hands before clarifying, "Sorry. When I heard your voice over the Omni-Tool that one time, I classified you as a guy. Unfortunately, you can never be quite sure with aliens. There is always that one Asari that feels it necessary to explain that they aren't quite female."

Accepting the explanation, Naruto held out a hand before declaring, "I see. Well, my full name is Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to meet you."

Joker nodded before answering, "I'm Jeff Moreau, but everyone calls me Joker. I'll pass on shaking your hand. Don't want to risk it." A questioning look caused Joker to explain, "I have a disease, Vrolik Syndrome. It causes my bones to be extremely brittle and easy to break. If what I've heard about your species' strength is true, a simple handshake for you might mean a broken hand for me. My hands are one of my few body parts that I haven't ever broken before, and I intend to keep them that way."

Naruto nodded at that. One of the things he'd learned from spending time with Shepard, Liara, and Garrus is that they seemed a bit fragile. Naruto had gotten a bit excited when Shepard had agreed to eat at Ichiraku Ramen, and had proceeded to start dragging her by the wrist. When Shepard had called out in pain, Naruto had stopped. Apparently, Naruto's excitement had caused him to be slightly rough. Shepard had actually had a bruise on her forearm for a few days after that. If an excited Naruto was enough to bruise a human at peak fitness like Shepard, then it was probably smart for a fragile one like Joker to limit any physical contact as much as possible.

Instead Naruto changed the topic and questioned, "I have a few things to talk about with Shepard. Any idea where she might be?"

"Most likely in her room. She likes to work from there. She might not seem like it off the ship, but she's a workaholic. She's also rather predictable. She'll spend the next twenty hours fixing even the smallest of problems, sleep five, then rinse and repeat," Joker answered in a confident voice.

Naruto nodded in thanks before setting off. He crossed the command deck and walked back down to the crew quarters. Naruto then took a left to end up at the door to Shepard's room. It opened automatically, but Shepard didn't seem to notice from her desk where she was intently reading reports. Naruto knocked his knuckles against the wall to get her attention.

Her head jerked up before relaxing slightly on seeing Naruto. She quickly asked, "Naruto, is there anything wrong?"

Naruto just leaned against a wall before replying, "Not really. I just think we need to talk about a few things."

Shepard frowned, casting a quick look towards the reports she had been reading, before sighing and asking, "Okay. What is it we need to talk about?"

"What is your mission?" Naruto asked bluntly.

Shepard visibly flinched, but quickly regained control of herself. She looked Naruto in the eye before asking, "I'm sorry, but what do you mean?"

"Don't even try playing that card, Shepard. Your reaction clearly gave away that something is being hidden from me, as if I didn't realize it before anyways. You mentioned a mission when the Normandy landed. There is also the deal with your crew. From what I gathered from the codex you gave us, this is an Alliance ship, and the Alliance is the foremost human military organization. Yet there are is a krogan, a turian, a quarian, and an Asari on this ship. That can't be normal. I also felt quite a bit of distrust from the crew towards them, so they clearly are new to the ship. Garrus is from C-Sec apparently, so why has he quit and joined a human ship? Krogan seem to be outcasts from Council Space, usually being mercenaries or bodyguards. Tali clearly isn't an experienced fighter, and Liara acts more like a scientist or explorer than a soldier. There must be a reason all these different people are on this ship, under your command. I was willing to ignore my suspicions before, but I think it is fair that I get answers now that my people are on this ship. I won't allow them to remain ignorant of any possible threat, so I won't leave till you tell me everything," Naruto finished while taking a firm stance with his arms crossed.

Shepard was clearly surprised by all the observations he had made, but she met his gaze sternly. The silent contest of wills went on for several minutes, but Shepard was clearly fighting a losing battle. Naruto was stubborn, if nothing else. Shepard finally broke eye contact and sighed in defeat.

"Did you read about the Spectres?" she asked softly.

Naruto thought for a moment before answering, "I did, but there was only a little bit of information. Stated that Spectres were agents who take orders directly from the Council and no one else."

Shepard nodded before elaborating, "Sorry. Without connecting to the extranet, the information on a codex is more limited. The proper equipment naturally hasn't been built near enough to connect your planet to the extranet."

Naruto shrugged before speaking, "So back to Spectres. I remember you stating that you are a Spectre."

Shepard nodded before stating, "A very new one and the first human Spectre, but yes. Spectres are chosen directly by the Council from those with exemplary service history and experience. A common line is that Spectres are not trained, but chosen. Spectres are the direct arm of the Council, some estimates state that not even a hundred Spectres are currently in service. Spectres are elevated to a status above the law, with the single objective of ensuring galactic stability."

"A dangerous position. To be above the law," Naruto commented grimly.

Shepard nodded before replying, "Yes, which is why so few exist. Even candidates must have years of combat or law enforcement experience. They are then forced to go through an arduous process of background checks, psychological evaluations, and usually have to spend several years of field training under another Spectre. Different Spectres use different methods to solve problems, whether to be ruthless or diplomatic, but it is very rare for one to go rogue."

Naruto groaned as he muttered, "Something tells me this is one of those cases."

Shepard seemed surprised by his statement, but nodded as she informed him, "Yes, it is. Spectres are the best of the best. If one goes rogue, only another Spectre is up to the task of dealing justice. A turian Spectre named Saren has been stripped of his Spectre status due to unforgivable offenses, and I have been given the mission of eliminating him."

"Unforgivable offenses. That speaks of a back story, and likely personal involvement," Naruto commented with a raised eyebrow. Sighing, Naruto took a seat before gesturing at Shepard, "Well, let's hear it."

Shepard frowned at his nonchalance, but started speaking, "I was only a Spectre candidate a month ago. Although technically Spectres can be chosen from any race, it is mainly only members of a council race that are chosen. Most species haven't ever had a Spectre chosen from them, despite being a member of Citadel Space for centuries. Humans have been trying to get a human Spectre for decades, as most feel it is a necessary step to being given a seat on the Council. I seemed to be the best option, and so our ambassador put my name forth."

"Why were you the best option?" Naruto interrupted.

Shepard gave him the stink eye, but answered, "I've been called a war hero. During the Skyllian Blitz, I was stationed on Elysium when a large number of batarian slavers attacked. I managed to rally the garrison enough to hold them off till reinforcements arrived, and many attribute that victory to our eventual offensive assault on Torfan two years later. I earned the Star of Terra for my actions. Now back to what you were asking before." Naruto narrowed his eyes at Shepard's reluctance to talk of an apparent victory, but decided to hold off for now.

"When my name was put forward, and the Council accepted me as a possible Spectre, I was given a task. A Prothean beacon was found on a human world, Eden Prime. Working Prothean technology is ridiculously rare, and each discovery has led to immense technological advancements. I was to recover the beacon with the aid of another Spectre, Nihlus Kryik. He was the Spectre who was going to observe me and give his opinion to the council. We would likely have gone on many more missions together before a decision was made. Unfortunately, that is when it all went wrong. We arrived to find Geth attacking Eden Prime."

Naruto thought a moment before asking, "Geth are the AIs that drove the Quarians from their homeworld, right?"

"Yes, but they haven't ever ventured beyond the Perseus Veil before this. We assumed they were content to stay away from the rest of the galaxy," Shepard answered easily.

Naruto nodded in acknowledgement before saying, "Sorry for the interruption. Continue."

Shepard nodded in appreciation before continuing, "Not only was this attack unexpected, but it could have potentially damaged the whole galaxy. If they destroyed the Prothean beacon, it would be to the detriment of allCitadel Space. So we acted. Nihlus separated from me to try and secure the beacon, while I took a squad to fight the geth and save any survivors. It was there that we picked up Ashley. She was an officer in the ground garrison when the attack happened, and the rest of her squad was killed. She joined us as we advanced."

"Unfortunately, we then found Nihlus, dead from a bullet wound to the back of his head. A survivor hiding nearby had seen what had happened. Apparently Nihlus had let his guard down when he greeted another turian, who he called Saren. Saren killed him when his back was turned. Our mission was to secure the beacon though, so we continued on. We eventually found it, but something happened. The beacon reacted when Kaidan got too close. I pushed Kaidan out of the way, and was lifted into the air by it. I experienced a vision of…something. I was apparently knocked out afterwards. I was informed by the rest of my team that thebeacon blew up after the vision was put into my brain."

Naruto raised a hand before repeating, "A vision."

Shepard frowned before replying angrily, "I know that sounds stupid, but it is true."

Naruto just grinned before replying, "You misunderstand. I don't think you're lying. I am just curious. If this is unusual for these beacons, then it might be potentially important. I was just asking for a better description of this vision."

Shepard blinked in surprise at his words, but scratched her head as she explained, "It is difficult to explain. It felt like a very bad dream. All muddled and baffling. It showed me some images, and I could literally feel a rush of emotions. Despair and helplessness. I can't really describe it better."

"Can I see?" Naruto asked innocently, but when Shepard blinked at him, he chuckled before elaborating, "I guess I forgot to tell you. When I absorbed the Ten Tails, I gained an ability for telepathy. I can literally dive into a person's mind and extract information."

His words caused Shepard to gain a suspicious look before asking cautiously, "Like the Asari?"

Naruto scratched his jaw and thought for a moment before replying, "Not really, although they are slightly similar. I guess I'll have to try and give you a technical description. From what I have read, it seems the Asari do their 'melding' by combining their nervous system with their partner's. This in turn, sort of combines the minds of the two involved. My technique is more one-way. I can pick up the electrical signals that constitute thought, but that only allows the most crude understanding of what they are thinking. Emotions mainly, or more if they are really focused on something. Such as the fact that I know you were reading a report detailing that the unexpected time spent on my planet has caused a shortage of food. Nothing serious, but you'll have to spend an extra day at the Citadel to re-supply."

Shepard's eyes were sharp now as she questioned sternly, "That is a dangerous skill. Why wasn't I informed of this earlier?"

Naruto just waved his hand nonchalantly as he replied, "Because you misunderstand the limitations of my ability. I can't do any mind control, and I can't literally just take information from someone. To truly examine a person's mind, I need physical contact to more accurately pick up the signals in their brain. It is also far easier with the consent of the person, as they could fight my intrusion. The process is very noticeable. I can't do it without the person feeling my presence. I can alter the state of their mind by injecting my own electrical signals into their brain to manipulate it, but I lose that influence when I lose the physical contact. So I can't brainwash anyone or anything. The Yamanaka clan has even more developed techniques, but those have limitations as well."

Shepard relaxed at his assurance before questioning, "So you'll go into my mind and experience my vision?"

Naruto nodded before saying, "Yes. In essence."

Shepard finally nodded and said, "Do it then."

Naruto stood and placed his hands lightly on her temples and told her, "Focus on the vision. Doing this makes it so that I can find the information without having to scour your mind for it. You'll feel my presence in your mind. Try not to fight it if you can. I promise I'll do my best to not pick up any of your thoughts or memories."

Naruto then dived into her mind. Immediately, Naruto felt the underlying basis of her mind. Although he didn't examine it closer, he still picked up on several things. Her mind was surprisingly cold, and seemed to be…damaged. No, that was the wrong way to describe it. Maybe stressed, possibly from the trauma of this Prothean vision. He also felt the undercurrent of trust she felt for him due to the ease at which he entered her mind. Despite only knowing him for about a week, she trusted him enough to let him into her mind. He was touched by her faith in him, and that just reinforced his desire to not see anything other than the vision.

It was easy to find, and it caused a frown to appear on Naruto's face. Shepard was right. It was all muddled and just overall baffling. All Naruto could manage to make out were several feelings and thoughts. Despair. Helplessness. Anger. Hopelessness. Enemies. Reapers. Doomed.

Naruto pulled out after only a few seconds. Shepard shivered and shook her head. Naruto quickly asked in concern, "Are you okay?"

Shepard shook her head again before claiming, "Just disorientated. That felt like a screw was pushing into my mind, just without the pain. It was very…discomforting. No offense, but I preferred Liara's method."

Naruto gave a devious grin before replying, "Well, the melding is supposed to be the Asari's method of having sex. I would assume you enjoyed it."

Shepard blushed at his words, but immediately argued, "She didn't do a full melding."

Naruto just kept his teasing grin as he argued right back, "Correction, she didn't explore your genetic heritage or whatever, which is what allows them to reproduce. That's just sex with birth control. Yep, I can already imagine it. Please tell me there was oil and moaning involved."

Shepard's face was now almost as red as her hair. She quickly exclaimed, "Tsunade was right. You are a pervert."

Naruto just shrugged before claiming, "Can you blame me? I'm a hot-blooded male surrounded by beautiful women. Sure, Liara is blue, but that just means she's exotic in my mind."

Shepard blushed again from the not so subtle compliment, but managed to regain her composure. She then seriously stated, "You are wrong. My experience with Liara only transferred memories. There was no pleasure or any shared feelings. A proper melding has both."

Naruto kept his grin as he quipped, "So you've obviously done your research. Interested in having the full experience?"

Shepard glared at Naruto, although she still had a slight blush, as she declared, "If you don't shut up about Liara and the melding, I'm kicking you out."

Naruto waved his hands as he replied in his best attempt at a soothing voice, "Sorry, sorry. I'll stop joking around. Let's move back to the vision."

Shepard seemed to calm down before she asked, "So did you find out anything?"

"A few things, yes. The first thing you should know is that a piece is missing. I'm assuming that this beacon must have been partly damaged. That is probably what caused it to explode after you used it," Naruto told her.

Shepard nodded before explaining, "Liara figured the beacon was damaged. She's an expert on Protheans. She also figured that the damage was the reason the vision couldn't be understood, since she couldn't make sense of it either."

"Well, that is where she's wrong," Naruto stated simply. He continued when he saw Shepard's questioning look, "It wasn't the damage to the beacon that has made the vision indecipherable. Our minds simply are incapable of interpreting it. Although sentient species are all capable of higher thought, their thought processes will naturally be different since they all evolved separately. This vision seems too tailored to a certain type of thought process. Specifically that of the Protheans."

Shepard frowned before questioning, "Why wouldn't we be able to understand it? Asari are capable of understanding the thoughts of other species, but Liara can't decipher this vision?"

Naruto nodded before explaining, "I'm basing most of this on what little I know, but I think I can safely assume the reason. An Asari is able to understand the thoughts and feelings of other species through the melding. When they meld minds with a new species, they use the connection to learn what makes other species tick. Instinct, culture, thought process. They gain knowledge of it all naturally due to the melding. She would have to meld with a living Prothean to gain an understanding of their thought processes…or at least something that knows how Protheans think. Same thing for me. I can understand the thoughts of other species because I can pick up the signals in their brain, and my subconscious uses this to decipher their thoughts. Like a cipher."

Shepard rubbed her temples as she stated, "So we can't understand the vision because it is too little to truly understand how the Protheans thought."

Naruto nodded before adding, "Yes. You can consider the vision currently being in code. Unless we have the key, we can't figure it out. So there is likely very little that can be done about your vision. So let's get back to your story. You passed out after the vision. Then what?"

Shepard blinked a few times, no doubt forgetting what they had originally been talking about, before she remembered and started, "I woke up a few days later on the Normandy. It was then that my commanding officer, David Anderson, told me that Saren was a well known Spectre. We returned to the Citadel to talk to the Council. They were not happy. Not only had the beacon been destroyed, but Nihlus was dead. When we told them about Saren's involvement, they reacted in disbelief. Saren was one of their best agents. Saren also had a past with Anderson that he used to make it seem like we were just trying to blame him for our own failure. The council wouldn't revoke Saren's Spectre status for anything than proof of Saren's involvement, and I had almost no chance to become a Spectre with such a failure on my record. So I was sent to find proof."

"It was through searching for proof that I met Garrus, Wrex, and Tali. Garrus was the C-Sec officer in charge of investigating Saren, but trying to investigate a Spectre is like trying to complete a puzzle with only half the pieces. All of their information is classified, and many laws protect them. Knowing that he couldn't prove Saren's treachery within the law, he quit and joined me. Researching a few leads, we found out a local crime boss, Fist, had joined Saren over something. This is how we joined up with Wrex. Someone had hired him to kill Fist, and he decided working with us was the easiest way to do it. A little bit of information gathering later told us that a Quarian, who ended up being Tali, had proof that Saren was a traitor. Fist was going to ambush her to get rid of the evidence. Naturally, we couldn't allow that to happen. We…found Fist, and interrogated him to get information on the ambush site. We were just in time to save Tali. It turns out the recent activity of the Geth had interested her. She is on her Pilgrimage, a journey by young Quarians to prove their worth to the Migrant Fleet. She had hoped to find some information on the Geth, and had managed to salvage a memory core. This memory core had a recording that proved Saren's guilt. It also had another person speaking on it, and mentioned that Saren wanted bring about the return of the Reapers. Apparently the Reapers are a race of sentient machines that wiped out the Protheans 50,000 years ago."

"You believe the vision is a Prothean warning about the Reapers," Naruto stated with a nonchalant wave of his hand. At Shepard's look, Naruto added, "Since you are convinced that the vision dealt with the Reapers, I automatically picked it up by viewing the vision. I also detected the word Reaper in the vision. You probably only made the connection because your subconscious memorized the word."

Shepard nodded and continued, "Regardless of the Reapers though, we now had proof of Saren's guilt. The Council agreed when it was shown to them. Eventually they decided to make me the first human Spectre, and gave me the mission of dealing with Saren. They gave me a short lead. The Asari Councilor recognized the second voice in the recording. Matriarch Benezia. This confused the councilor greatly, as it apparently is out of character for Benezia, but the proof was there. I received knowledge on a daughter of Benezia. We hoped that she might have more information on her mother."

Naruto quickly asked, "Am I right to assume it is Liara?"

"Yes. Liara was studying some Prothean ruins alone, as she is a professor on the extinction of the Protheans. We arrived to find that Geth were also there. Long story short, we managed to rescue her. Unfortunately, she seems to have had a split with her mother years ago. However, she was very concerned with her mother's actions, and asked to join us. As she is an accomplished biotic and expert on everything Prothean, I didn't see any reason to deny her. We were without leads though, and the Council decided to use my period of inactivity to send me to your planet. Usually that is a task more suited for a research team or explorers, but they decided to send me since I didn't have anything better to do. After that, you know as much as I."

Naruto didn't reply as he thought of all the information Shepard had told him. It was a lot. The Reapers were an especially worrying thought. If these Protheans were so technologically advanced, it spoke greatly of the creatures that forced them to extinction.

Naruto finally said, "I think that is enough. At least, from you. I think I'm going to talk to Liara about a few things, if you don't mind."

Shepard frowned at his interest in finding out more, but didn't try to stop him. She had clearly realized over the past week that Naruto was incredibly stubborn on some things. That thought made Naruto grin slightly. She finally sat back at her desk before replying, "Fine. I suggest dropping it though. I'll handle Saren. You just need to worry about meeting with the Council."

Naruto left her at that to stride to the lab where it seemed Liara spent most of her time. Once again, the opening of the door apparently went unnoticed. This time though, Naruto carefully crept up behind her. Once positioned right behind her, Naruto put his hand on her shoulder as he spoke, "Yo!"

Liara immediately leapt to her feet and let out a surprised squeal. She looked around in a panic. Meanwhile, Naruto fell to the floor laughing. It took a moment for Liara to finally seem to grasp the situation, but she quickly exclaimed, "That was totally immature, Naruto!"

Naruto didn't reply for several moments as he breathed deeply to try and recover from his laughing fit. He finally spoke up, "Sometimes someone has to be immature. Otherwise the world gets too dull."

Liara just glared lightly as she replied, "That still wasn't nice."

Naruto just shrugged as he commented easily, "Don't worry. I thought the squeal was cute."

Liara looked away in embarrassment, much to Naruto's amusement, but quickly recovered enough to ask, "So is there any reason you decided to come here or did you just want to scare me?"

Naruto calmed down to reply, "Sorry, I was just hoping to just ask you a few questions."

Liara seemed to calm down with the more serious topic. She quickly asked, "What about?"

"Well, I managed to squeeze the whole story about Saren out from Shepard. So I decided to come and talk to you about Benezia," Naruto told her bluntly.

Liara actually snapped in response, "Then I'll save you the need to ask the questions. No, I don't know what she is doing. I have not spoken to her in over a decade, and haven't talked to her face in over fifty. I am also in no way connected to her actions on Eden Prime, and I do not have a hatred of humans."

Naruto cut her off by placing a hand on her shoulder and saying in a comforting voice, "Calm down, Liara. I wasn't accusing you of anything."

Liara took a few breaths before regaining control of herself. She immediately grew embarrassed as she apologized weakly, "Sorry, Naruto. I shouldn't have gone off on you like that."

Naruto just gave her a soft smile before reassuring her, "No worries. Clearly you've had some frustration building. Getting it out of your system is the best way to deal with it."

Liara shook her head as she argues, "I still shouldn't have done it. You did nothing wrong. I really can't believe I did that. That was so unlike me."

Naruto grinned at that as he claimed, "That just means you feel comfortable around me enough to express your real thoughts. I prefer that to acting like a robot. Here, let's talk about it."

Naruto guided the still uncomfortable Liara back into her chair. He then pulled out one of his own to sit down across from her. After leaning back to get comfortable, he asked, "So it seems you've been having troubles with the whole Benezia thing?"

Liara hesitated for several moments before finally admitting, "There have just been a few incidents where emotions have run high from my mother's involvement on Eden Prime. It was a human colony, and this is a primarily human ship. Several of the crewmen have relatives on Eden Prime. Many humans still aren't used to aliens either, so many don't enjoy having several on a human vessel. My connection to Benezia seems to have made me the target of most of their frustration."

Naruto quickly asked, "Has anything happened?"

"No, not really. I've just heard their muttering, and a few have been more direct. Telling me directly exactly what they thought of me," Liara claimed in a slightly vulnerable voice.

Naruto rubbed his chin in thought before saying, "I don't get the feeling that Shepard would approve of that. Have you tried talking to her?"

Liara immediately stated in a firmer voice, "I am not a child, Naruto. I can deal with a few harsh words without running to Shepard."

"True, but you should also realize when a problem needs to be addressed. Trying to deal with everything on your own can sometimes cause unneeded difficulties," Naruto mused.

"I shall if it becomes more serious, but it isn't a real issue currently. I am just rather unused to interacting with others, especially humans. I've spent the last several decades studying isolated Prothean ruins, usually alone. To suddenly go from that to being on a ship with mainly humans, who I have literally barely interacted with before, is a quite disconcerting experience. Even before the crew's thoughts on me became evident. As the daughter of a matriarch, I grew up being treated with respect. It might sound silly, but I haven't dealt too much with being treated like this. On the other hand, I found being on your planet to be an amazing experience. Your culture and species is absolutely fascinating. To go from that to being back on the Normandy has been a very difficult transition. I forgot about the opinion of the crew until another one confronted me about ten minutes ago," Liara explained.

Naruto nodded and just gave a grin as he told her, "While I still feel like you should tell Shepard, it is your choice. If you ever need anyone to talk to though, you can always talk to me."

"Thanks for your support, but you shall very soon leave the ship to start negotiations with the Council while I stay with Shepard," Liara argued with a sad look on her face.

Naruto wasn't going to allow that. Naruto quickly poked her forehead and ordered, "Let's not have any of that. No being sad. Even if I end up leaving the ship, we can still exchange…what was it called again? Ceemail? Email? Demail?"

Liara giggled at that before clarifying, "It is email."

Naruto ignored her laughter in favor of giving her a smile and exclaiming, "See! Talking about it always makes you feel better."

Liara returned his smile as she responded, "I guess I have to concede that point. Thanks for listening, but let's get back to what you came here for. What did you want to know about my mother?"

Naruto nodded and quickly spoke, "Shepard briefly talked about how her current behavior is out of character. Can you elaborate?"

Liara nodded and started speaking, "Yes, I honestly still have trouble believing it. Mother entered her matriarch stage just two years after giving birth to me, so I grew up hearing about her beliefs and opinions. Mother is well known as a teacher of philosophy and religion. She has also advocated the belief that the Asari should have a greater role in galactic events, but she was always a voice of reason as well. She wanted to do things the smart way. Desiring to invest in scientific research and address Asari societal issues. While knowing that hard decisions sometimes had to be made, she usually preferred a more diplomatic approach in an attempt to save lives and prevent conflict. The thought that she would join Saren, who seems to be using the Geth to facilitate his campaign against humanity, is completely ridiculous. I simply can't believe that she would do that out of her free will."

Naruto nodded before questioning, "So you believe she is being coerced?"

"That is the only explanation I believe possible. I'm having difficulty thinking of what the method might be though. Mother isn't so selfish as to follow Saren simply to hide her own secrets. She wouldn't put her own position above all the lives lost in the Eden Prime attack. I briefly considered the possibility that Saren might have threatened to attack an Asari colony if she didn't join him, but that is also unlikely. Humanity is vulnerable due to lacking a Council seat and not having been in the galactic community long enough to form allies. The Asari are the opposite. Attacking the Asari would have turned the entire galaxy against him. Even though he was proven to be connected to the attack and had his Spectre status stripped, something I highly doubt he expected to happen, he hasn't been classified a threat to the larger galaxy. That is why only Shepard and whatever allies she can gather are going after him. Attacking the Asari would have been far more damaging to whatever plans he has. So I can't think of a way he could force mother to follow him," Liara finished uncertainly.

Naruto immediately clarified, "But you still believe she is being coerced?"

Liara nodded and stated with utter certainty in her voice, "I know she is. We may not have talked in a while, but I know she wouldn't do this without good reason."

Naruto sighed as he thought of all that. Stuck in his thoughts, he asked rather halfheartedly, "You seem to believe in her quite a bit. Why are you two not closer? Sorry if it is a little too personal, but I have difficulty imagining what could cause you two to not have talked in years."

Liara hesitated momentarily before admitting slowly, "I guess I can tell you. You've been a good friend, even with how short we've known each other. My childhood was rather unique. It is very unusual for Asari to become a Matriarch while still raising a child because it is during the Matron stage that Asari have the traditional motherly characteristics. I suspect that she became a matriarch due to the soul searching that resulted from her splitting with my father. Either way, it meant I was raised in a unique environment. Not only did my mother become almost immediately involved in government, but she also went through the changes that occur when one becomes a matriarch. She lost the caring and nurturing instincts usual to mothers. Instead, I was raised in a very intellectually stimulating environment that meant I quickly had to develop my own opinions on many philosophical and political issues. I was the subject of a great deal of pressure due to my mother and upbringing. While she was far from a bad mother, this upbringing did not forge the strong emotional connection that usually is shared between parents and their children. I love her, but we seem to argue over our differences of opinion whenever we talk. I partly chose to study the Protheans because it was a subject that allowed me to escape from her influence and forge my own path. Striking out on my own, you could say. With my own attempt to be free of her influence and her preoccupation with guiding the Asari people, we simply haven't interacted much."

Naruto scratched his chin as he commented, "Still, hasn't it been going on a tad bit too long? You are talking about several decades."

"You have to remember that Asari are long lived. 50 years isn't near as long to an Asari, but you are right. Although crisis was unexpected, it has forced me to reconsider my relationship with my mother. It is one of the reasons I joined Shepard. Although it is partly for protection from Saren, I mainly wish to want to find out the motivations guiding my mother and help her if I can," Liara explained.

"I see. Thanks for the talk and information, Liara. I'll leave you to your own business now," Naruto claimed as he stood and started towards the door. After only a few steps though, he remembered something. Turning around, Naruto added, "Actually, there is one more thing I wanted to ask."

"Of course. What is it?"

"I have an ability somewhat similar to the Asari melding. I am able to…dive into another person's mind. Shepard allowed me to do this to her in order to see this vision of hers. However, I noticed something worrying when I was in her mind," Naruto explained slowly. Liara looked very interested in his ability, but didn't interrupt. Something Naruto was thankful. He took several moments on how to phrase his next words before continuing, "I noticed that Shepard's mind was oddly…strained. I was wondering if you noticed this when you melded with her?"

Liara immediately responded, "I only engaged in a partial melding, so what I found out was very limited compared to a full melding. I also haven't really ever fully melded before, so I lack the experience necessary to truly say anything about the mental condition of my partners."

Naruto shrugged and replied, "I made sure to only witness the vision. I only noticed the state of Shepard's mind because it is the very most basic condition of a person's mind. I didn't look into this problem more, since I promised to only view the vision."

Liara nodded before questioning, "Then I shall help however I can. First I would like more clarification on this problem. Have you ever witnessed something similar to this and do you have any particularly theories?"

"Yes, I have noticed that when a person's mind is particularly strained that they seem to have a greater tendency to suffer from mental illness. It doesn't mean that they suffer from a mental illness, just that their minds are more susceptible. I've mainly noticed it in shinobi who fought in the war. I have noticed similar problems in a few civilians though. Usually the cause is a form of mental trauma. Fighting in a war, losing a loved one, abuse, etc," Naruto informed her seriously.

Liara's face lit up at his words, and she immediately replied, "Then the most obvious answer would be lingering trauma from the vision. The beacon was so damaged that it caused some damage to Shepard, hence why she originally passed out from it. A weaker mind might have collapsed from the strain."

Naruto shook his head though before stating, "I thought of that as well, but I do not believe that to be the case. If anything, this original strain might have helped Shepard handle the trauma from the vision better. Her mind is more used to dealing with traumatic events. The greater susceptibility to mental illness is simply a gradual worsening of their mental functions. They seem to handle singular events better though. No, the cause is more likely a traumatic event at least several years old. Something that has helped form her character and still affects her to this day."

Naruto saw Liara's face light up again, but this time there was some hesitation present. As Liara struggled internally, Naruto just waited. She finally started to speak in a hesitant voice, "Then I believe I know of the incident that might have caused what you speak of. When I first joined the crew, I did a background check on Shepard. I even managed to hack into the Council psych evaluations."

Naruto raised an eyebrow before asking, "Isn't that an invasion of privacy?"

Liara looked embarrassed as she responded, "Possibly, but as I said before, I am unused to interacting with humans. I had hoped these reports might make it easier to interact with Shepard."

Naruto rubbed the area between his eyes as he mused, "While I feel I should respect Shepard's privacy, it is a little too late to turn back now. So what did you find out?"

Liara hesitantly explained, "Shepard grew up on the human colony of Mindoir. When she was sixteen, a group of batarian slavers attacked. In the attack, Shepard witnessed her family and friends being killed. She managed to escape and was rescued by the Alliance. Naturally, she suffered severe depression for several months afterwards. She eventually recovered and enlisted with the Alliance when they declared her stable. The Councilpsych evaluations focused on this event and its repercussions on her psyche. It seems Shepard developed a minor case of emotional detachment, in the sense that Shepard has made a conscious decision to avoid emotional bonds with others. She still feels empathy and has great leadership abilities, but avoids forming personal relationships with others. Likely as a defense mechanism against once again experiencing the grief she suffered from Mindoir. The investigation by the Council showed that Shepard has little to no personal correspondence and hasn't had any romantic relationships in the twelve years since she has been a part of the Alliance. Supposedly, Shepard's greatest personal connection is with her previous commanding officer, David Anderson, and even that is mainly a professional relationship. The Council eventually decided that this didn't indicate a greater likelihood of desertion and in fact indicated a greater chance of her acting impartially as a Spectre, so they accepted her candidacy."

"Emotional detachment eh. I have quite a bit of experience with such people," Naruto commented as he thought of people like Sasuke and Neji, although they seemed more to have superiority complexes. Changing his thoughts to how Shepard acted, Naruto had to continue, "No offense, but I don't see it. I didn't get that feeling from her."

Liara smiled as she exclaimed, "Of course you haven't experienced it much. You are a very…likeable person, Naruto."

Naruto could only grin cockily at that as he claimed, "You aren't the first person to say that. Half of the people in my childhood hated me at first. I guess I am just too lovable…and humble. Can't forget humble."

Liara shook her head in amusement before stating, "I haven't known her too long, but I can already tell she is a little more open since going to your planet. She wasn't cold per say, but she was rather stern and professional. It made talking to her difficult. Almost like she was somehow different from everyone else. On one hand it allows her to keep order very easily, but it also makes people reluctant to talk to her more than necessary. I guess that was the point though."

Naruto mumbled aloud as he considered that, "I see. That might explain the coldness I felt from her mind, and it would fit with the strain of her mind. If she has started opening up a little bit more since meeting me, then I guess I should just keep being myself. It seems to be helping. Although I wouldn't have really delved into the issue if I knew it was so personal. Too late now, but I doubt Shepard will be too happy when she finds out."

Naruto finally stood and waved goodbye to Liara before leaving. As he walked, he considered what to do now. He could feel that Shepard believed Saren was more dangerous then he appeared, and Naruto trusted her opinion on the matter. Something about the situation just made Naruto tense, and Naruto was never one to ignore his feelings. He was the type to ignore reason and fix the problem, but he really couldn't go all crazy in his current situation. The negotiations with the Council must go forward.

Finally deciding to think on it later, Naruto headed down the elevator. Once it opened, Naruto saw that the others had managed to set up several tents for them all to sleep in. As he walked out, he came out right as the woman Naruto remembered to be named Ashley pointed at Samui's chest and asked bluntly, "Are those real?" Naruto immediately clamped a hand over his mouth to hold back his laughter and hid to allow this conversation to continue.

Samui gave Ashley a cold look as she replied in a deadpan voice, "Obviously, since I highly doubt my aching back and shoulders are just my imagination."

Ashley blushed in embarrassment, but still stated, "Those have to be breast implants."

Mei moved next to Samui and was the one to respond first. She tilted her head and repeated in a confused tone, "Breast implants?"

Ashley's eye twitched at the inclusion of another big breasted woman, but replied in an annoyed voice, "Yeah, you know. Where silicon gel implants are inserted into a woman to create large breasts through surgery."

Mei blinked before exclaiming, "What a weird idea! Not to mention rather disgusting and painful sounding!"

Ashley nodded in agreement, but she froze with wide eyes as the consequences of the statement occurred to her. She pointed at the two of them and declared, "So those are natural."

Samui shrugged, making her breasts jiggle and cause Ashley's eyebrow to twitch again, before answering, "They sure as hell aren't silicon."

Ashley's mouth opened and closed several times as she tried to come up with a way to explain her disbelief, but Garrus interrupted her by informing her, "Their Hokage had breasts that were bigger if anything. They aren't humans, Ashley. Maybe that is completely normal to them."

Ashley sent a glare towards Garrus, and Naruto took that as his cue to interrupt. That glare wasn't entirely due to annoyance over his remark. Naruto clapped his hands to draw their attention before announcing with a smile, "While I love to talk about breasts, this isn't the time for it. Mei, where is everyone?"

Mei nodded and immediately explained, "Shiho almost immediately went to talk to the engineers in the engine room. Kurotsuchi got annoyed by Shikamaru sleeping, and ordered him to go and help her. I believe Mabui is exploring the ship. Everyone else is in the tents resting."

"Alright then. Since I've finished with all the serious stuff, I guess I can have some fun," Naruto stated happily. Naruto ignored the questioning looks he received in response in favor of approaching Wrex. Once he was standing in front of the large Krogan, Naruto let out a battle hungry grin before asking, "So you want to have a spar, Wrex?"

Wrex grinned as well as he answered, "I'm a Krogan. I'm always ready to fight, but I really doubt this storage area would survive our fight."

Naruto shrugged before saying, "So we'll just have to have rules. We'll have a taijutsu spar. So hand to hand combat only. I heard you are a biotic. So no biotics for you, and no jutsu for me. Deal?"

Wrex rolled a shoulder as he grunted out confidently, "You sure have a quad to challenge a Krogan to a fight without weapons, and I'm no ordinary Krogan. I'm a Battlemaster. Put me up against ten arrogant runts who just completed their rites of passage and I'll send them back to their holes with a few scars to show them who the superior Krogan is."

"Nice to know, but don't underestimate me. I'm not considered the strongest shinobi on my planet simply because I'm charming. I may not specialize in taijutsu, but if I can go toe to toe with the Raikage and Bushy Brows then it doesn't matter. I'm the best, and if you forget it I'll make sure to send you away with a few scars to show you just why I am the best," Naruto announced in a cocky voice.

As the two fighters engaged in some pre-fight banter and taunting, a conversation was going on between the observers. Ashley declared in a exasperated voice, "Who is he kidding? It is good to have confidence, but this might as well be a suicide wish. A fist fight with a Krogan?!"

Kaidan was the one listening to her. He shrugged before responding, "Who knows, he might stand a chance. Even the commander was praiseworthy of his species' abilities."

"Yeah, I heard about their magic. Just sounds like some sort of advanced biotics or something. Not like it will help him in a fist fight," Ashley responded in a slightly condescending voice.

"I wouldn't say that, Ashley," a voice interrupted. The two looked over to see Garrus walk up to them. Ashley didn't look too happy at his arrival, but he ignored her in favor of continuing, "Their species seems to have a ridiculous amount of strength. Their Hokage was able to punch Naruto through a wall, and he didn't even have a bruise to show for it. Naruto also isn't overly arrogant, despite what it looks like now. I think he is just having some fun. If he says he can do something, I've learned to believe he can." Ashley looked ready to retort, but was interrupted.

"You got that right."

All three of them jumped before looking to see that the shinobi were up. Shikamaru and Shiho and come back from the engine room, and it seemed Tali had decided to join them. Shikamaru looked once at Naruto and Wrtex, who had started circling each other, and muttered a quick 'troublesome' before climbing into a tent to sleep. Shiho stayed out to watch, with Tali joining her. Mei, Samui, Neji, and Tenten had all taken up position to watch. Mabui had apparently come back down and was watching from near the elevator. Kurotsuchi and Temari were the ones to interrupt them.

Kurotsuchi frowned as she looked at Naruto and claimed, "I'm a frickin kage and even I know the bastard's on a completely different level. Even without his Bijuu chakra, only the Raikage could fight him with taijutsu when he is serious. Considering the giant specializes in his nin-taijutsu, that is saying something. That build of that Krogan looks solid, but he'll need way more than that to match Naruto."

"I've known Naruto for a while now. Naruto seems to have an infinite well of energy and power that just allows him to keep getting stronger. I can already predict how this fight will go. Naruto will start slow to feel out his opponent, likely take a hit or two in the process to get a feel for his opponent's strength. Then he'll gradually up his speed and power till he completely overwhelms his opponent. That is his usual fighting style. He was a slow starter who almost entirely relied on his durability and endurance as a kid, and it has stuck with him," Temari added thoughtfully.

Ashley still looked doubtful, but Kaidan shushed her and pointed to the starting match.

Naruto had heard their every word, but felt it was finally time to start. Making a 'come hither' motion with his hand, Wrex quickly acquiesced. Wrex charged forward with one shoulder down. When he was just a few feet from Naruto he swung the lowered arm upwards like a club, aiming right for where Naruto's jaw met his neck. Naruto easily moved out of the way, but Wrex wasn't going to let up. Wrex immediately started a swift series of powerful strikes. Naruto stayed calm under the assault though, and started to analyze Wrex's fighting style.

Naruto had never seen a style like it, but he was still impressed. Instead of trying to punch, Wrex seemed to use his arms more like clubs. It likely fit better with the Krogan's physiology or something. The swings clearly had enormous power behind them since Wrex seemed to know how to swing the arms to gain the most weight and momentum behind his strikes. While not particularly fast, there was almost no wasted movement. All of it was used to add more power to his strikes, but he also seemed to be able to mix up his strikes. Several times Wrex threw a strike with less power behind it to increase the speed in a bid to catch Naruto unprepared. It hadn't worked, but those strikes still came uncomfortably close. It was completely unlike most of the martial arts Naruto had seen. It was not pretty or overly smooth. Damn if it wasn't effective though. Simple, brutal, and effective. That is how Naruto would describe it.

Finally deciding to stop playing on the defensive, Naruto dodged another strike and slipped inside of Wrex's guard. Naruto's well-honed instincts immediately sent his fist forward into a strike to Wrex's body. He forgot something though. Naruto felt a flash of pain when his unprotected fist impacted Wrex's hard armor. Wrex barely grunted though, and immediately retaliated. Naruto could not claim to have predicted Wrex's rapid response, and his moment of inattention due to his pain dulled his reactions enough for the blow to land on Naruto's chest right below his neck. Naruto could not stop the pained grunt from flying from his mouth as hisairborne body flew back from the heavy shot. He quickly recovered and managed to turn his unbalanced momentum into a back flip. Naruto softly landed and rubbed the spot where he had been hit and stared at the grinning Wrex.

Wrex hit his armor a few times before saying in a mocking voice, "It's called armor. You'll have to do better than that to even annoy me."

Naruto just grinned and replied calmly, "I see. I guess I'll have to step it up."

Wrex was clearly annoyed at how nonchalant Naruto was, and charged again. Naruto didn't bother moving this time though. Instead he moved his feet into a more solid stance and sent a pulse of chakra through his muscles. Wrex was clearly surprised at Naruto's stance, but clearly wasn't willing to let a potential opportunity go to waste. Wrex rammed into Naruto. Naruto grunted as his feet slid back, but he quickly focused chakra to his feet to increase his traction. His feet stuck to the floor, his entire body trembled as it worked to hold back the ton of Krogan trying to push him back. Even with chakra sticking him to the floor, Naruto felt himself slide back a few more inches before Wrex's momentum ended.

Wrex was shocked his charge had been stopped, but he was far too experienced to let that shock stop him for long. Naruto moved his arms to catch the inside of Wrex's arms when he tried to grab Naruto's neck. The two immediately engaged in a battle of strength. Their arms trembled as they exerted huge amounts of force in their attempts to overpower their opponent. After several moments, it seemed Wrex was gaining the advantage as his hands slowly inched closer to Naruto's neck. Naruto quickly put a stop to that by upping the amount of chakra empowering his arms. Naruto grinned as his arms steadied and proceeded to force back the absolutely stunned Wrex. Wrex wasn't going to make it easy though, and redoubled his efforts.

Exactly what Naruto wanted. Naruto changed the direction of his efforts and instead pulled Wrex forward. The shocked Krogan was pulled straight into a knee to his gut. Wrex let out a groan. Naruto had put a particularly large amount of chakra into the strike, both to make it stronger and to protect his limb from Wrex's armor. Naruto didn't stop with that though. Naruto quickly gave a palm strike to Wrex's face, and then spun around to deliver a spinning heel kick to his face as well. Wrex groggily fell to a knee.

Naruto stood above the Krogan before questioning with a mocking grin, "Is that better? Or maybe this is a little too much for you."

Wrex just let out a gravelly chuckle. He slowly stood to show that he was smiling before he responded in an excited tone, "What are you talking about? This is just getting fun." That got a chuckle out of Naruto as well.

The two started again, and it quickly settled into a pattern. Wrex had impressive speed for his size, but that wasn't near enough to keep up with Naruto. Naruto flowed like quicksilver around Wrex's strikes, peppering him with repeated palm strikes. The frustrating part was Wrex's durability. Naruto finally realized what people felt when fighting him. It was irritating to land strikes and still have your opponent keep coming. Wrex let out grunts of pain whenever Naruto connected, but it didn't do more than inconvenience the Krogan. Naruto could use more chakra or Tsunade's strength technique, but he wasn't sure how durable Wrex was. Naruto doubted Shepard would be happy if he killed or crippled one of his crew members. So fear kept him from kicking it up another notch, but his current level of power just didn't seem to be enough to keep his opponent down.

Naruto jumped back to make some distance after dodging another strike. He was going to end this already. While entertaining, it was starting to get stale. Naruto watched Wrex charge, and shifted his feet to take it again. At the last moment possible, Naruto shifted his feet. Using his right arm to hook his arm under Wrex's shoulder and gripping Wrex's back hump with his left, Naruto bent over to have Wrex's momentum carry him right over his hip. Naruto used another pulse of chakra to give him the strength to change the direction of Wrex's upper body. The result. A picture perfect hip toss.

A ton of Krogan slammed down onto the steel floor, actually leaving a dent. Naruto didn't stop for a moment though. Dropping to a knee, he put his fingers right above one of Wrex's eyes before declaring, "I think this is enough. Unless you feel like losing an eye." Naruto didn't give the Krogan a chance to respond though, choosing to stand back up and stretch.

On the sidelines, Ashley exclaimed, "Holy shit! Am I hallucinating or did he just hip toss a freaking Krogan?"

Kaidan softly responded in an awed voice, "Nope. He just threw a Krogan."

"Told you," Temari pointed out calmly.

Ashley looked at Temari and Kurotsuchi before asking, "How can you be so calm? A Krogan can weigh a full ton!"

Kurotsuchi shrugged before responding easily, "I don't see why we shouldn't be. The Krogan was impressive, more than I expected, but not anything outrageous. He could probably compete with a jounin in taijutsu, but any S-class ninja could do something similar. And as we said before, Naruto's on a different level. He could have killed the Krogan with a single finger if he really wanted to."

Ashley clearly did not know what to think on Kurotsuchi's nonchalance with what just happened and her statement. She finally sighed before walking away as she declared, "I need a drink to deal with all this craziness."

The shinobi started to go back to their own thing with the entertainment over, but Tali quickly moved towards Naruto and exclaimed, "Keelah, that was amazing! I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it myself."

Naruto rubbed his head before saying in a slightly embarrassed voice, "Thanks. It was a fun spar."

The two were cut off when they both heard a gravelly chuckle. They turned to see that Wrex had gotten back to his feet. Wrex had the same rather bloodthirsty grin on his face as when he had been fighting. When he started approaching Naruto's body tensed while Tali backed up, clearly not confident in facing down a rampaging Krogan. Wrex stopped right in front of Naruto. Wrex lifted an arm, causing Naruto to prepare to defend himself from a possible attack, but the arm just came down to give a hard pat to Naruto's shoulder as Wrex gave out a loud laugh.

"Such strength! Such power! I haven't experienced anything like it in my eight hundred years, and haven't been tossed around like that since I was a pup. You have more than enough power to call me your krant. Call me whenever something ails you, and I shall make sure your enemies shall fall," Wrex announced with a wide grin.

Naruto blinked for several moments before a shit-eating grin appeared on his face. Naruto put his hand on Wrex's shoulder before responding, "While I don't know what a krant is, it sounds something like an ally, and I'll always accept new allies and friends."

Wrex chuckled before claiming, "Not quite what a krant is, but I'll explain it to you over some drinks to seal the deal. You need to get drunk together to truly be Krant. I have enough ryncol to get a real party going."

"That sounds fun, but unfortunately I can't really get drunk. I have a very strong metabolism that just burns alcohol out of my blood faster than I can put any in," Naruto claimed while rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

Wrex just gave a quick burst of laughter before stating in an eager voice, "That will just make it more fun. I have some pure ryncol that would knock a thresher maw out cold. I'll go get it and have you get drunk for the first time. Every true warrior needs to get drunk off their ass now and then." Wrex then eagerly walked away.

Naruto awkwardly chuckled before finally shrugging and saying, "I guess it's worth a shot."

"I'd be careful, Naruto," Tali stated from behind him. Naruto turned with raised eyebrows, encouraging her to continue, "Ryncol is a drink created by Krogan, for Krogan. It hits other species like ground glass. Even a small amount added to drinks is usually enough to knock most people out. If a non-Krogan tried to drink it pure…well I'm not so sure they would even make it to a hospital in time."

Naruto shrugged and replied calmly, "I'm sure I'll be fine. As I said, my metabolism makes it impossible for me to get drunk under normal circumstances. Thanks for worrying though, Tali. I appreciate it." Naruto finished with a soft smile that made Tali's reply turn to stutters.

Lucky for her Wrex returned at that moment, distracting Naruto long enough for her to slip away. Wrex held up a bottle filled with green liquid to Naruto and exclaimed, "Here it is. Pure ryncol. I guarantee that this will fuck you up nicely."

Naruto hesitantly grabbed the bottle. Suddenly Tali's warning came back. Finally he shrugged it off. He had managed to absorb a god. Some alcohol, no matter how, couldn't really affect him. Right?

"Cheers," Naruto said before tipping his head back and taking a swig.

"Holy shit!" Naruto mumbled softly to himself as he came to.

Naruto didn't do much for a several moments as his mind slowly emerged from its stupor. As he regained his wits, he felt the pain from a headache appear. Naruto ignored it and slowly turned his head to survey his situation. He was laying spread eagle on the metal floor of the storage area.

Naruto blinked before trying to remember what the heck happened after he started drinking. It was all a blur. He was pretty sure that he did something to annoy Kurotsuchi, convinced Wrex to throw him across the room with biotics, tried to open the airlock to prove to Wrex he could survive in space, and somehow split his head open on the stairs. Or he might have been hallucinating. Naruto really wasn't sure. He didn't have any past experience of drinking to base it on.

"Good to see you're up," a voice spoke up.

Naruto's eyes widened as he whipped his head around. Unfortunately, that caused his headache to let out a large burst of pain. Naruto flinched, but still looked to see that is was Kaidan that spoke. He was standing just a few feet from Naruto. Yep, his wits were really slow for him to have not noticed someone that close.

"What the hell happened last night? What the hell did I do? And where is Wrex and everyone else?" Naruto questioned in a rush.

Kaidan chuckled before answering in his soft voice, "I believe Wrex is huddled in the Mako sleeping. All the others are sleeping. This is the technical nighttime aboard the Normandy. They probably won't wake up for several more hours. As for what happened last night…well I can tell you that you drank about two times more ryncol than Wrex. I'll let you figure out the rest on your own. It should be entertaining…for me at least."

"Asshole!" Naruto couldn't help from grunting out. Kaidan just chuckled in response.

"It is good that you are awake. I half expected for you to be completely knocked out. I have a message. The Council is requesting a meeting with the Commander, and they have also requested that the ambassador for your species be there too."

Naruto groaned as he stood up. Clutching his head, Naruto grunted out, "Then can you please wake up Mei and Temari as well? They should be there as well. They are in the light blue and the tan tents. Knock on the openings and call inside. Don't try to open them. Mei sleeps naked, and Temari is usually only in her underwear when sleeping. They put seals on the openings to electrocute anyone that tries to peak. Not enough to kill, but it still hurts like a bitch."

Kaidan blushed slightly, but nodded and answered, "Alright. What about you?"

Naruto just walked away as he replied, "I'm going to go fix myself up. Tell the commander we'll be up in five."

"Got it."

When Naruto stood in the elevator though, he saw something rather strange. From the top of his burnt orange tent, something was sticking out. It was a flag pole, but instead of a flag, several pairs of women's underwear were hanging from it. Getting a very bad feeling from looking at it, Naruto quickly created a clone to take them down before starting the elevator.

Five minutes later Naruto walked into the comm room of the Normandy with Temari and Mei at each side. Looking at him, no one would know that Naruto had gotten wasted off his ass the previous night. His eyes were bright, skin clear of any dirt or sweat, clothes were free of any wrinkles, and his hair was clean and in its ponytail. Although it was still spiky and rather out of control. Temari and Mei had both also fixed themselves up in the five minutes that had been given to them.

Shepard was already waiting. Naruto swore that she gave him the stink eye before she said, "Good, you are here. I'll connect us to the Council."

Shepard did something with her Omni-Tool before three holograms appeared to show an Asari, Salarian, and Turian. The Turian immediately spoke up, "Shepard."

Shepard lowered her head before answering, "Councilors."

"We apologize for the unexpected communication request, commander. Some important news has come to the Council's attention," the Asari announced.

"And I see the esteemed delegation from Shinno 3 is also present," the Salarian added.

Realizing that as a subtle demand, Naruto bowed his head before speaking in a dignified voice, "Greetings, honored councilors. Although there are more of us in the delegation, us three shall act as the main negotiators. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. This is Mei Terumi and Temari Sabaku."

The Asari nodded in recognition before replying, "My name is Matriarch Tevos Hathor."

The Turian added briskly, "Sparatus Horus."

"Sur'Kesh Eda Manron Sanito Dodan Valern," the Salarian spoke the long name with ease. Naruto just blinked several times in response. The Salarian quickly took pity on them and added, "I can simply be referred to by my given name, Valern."

Naruto coughed to buy himself a moment before responding, "We are able to remember your whole name, but it might be complicated for non-shinobi. So we shall stick with just Valern, if it isn't impolite to shorten it."

Tevos tilted her head before questioning, "What do you mean by it being complicated for non-shinobi?"

Mei quickly answered, "Shinobi are the main military forces of our world. Prospective shinobi are taught many different mnemonic devices from a young age in order to increase our information retention. Our lines of work often require us to memorize large amounts of classified material in order to better protect our secrets. All shinobi have better memories than civilians, and higher level shinobi usually have near photographic memories. For a shinobi, the name Sur'Kesh Eda Manron Sanito Dodan Valern would be simple to remember, but our civilians might have far more difficulty with such a name."

Valern nodded in interest before muttering furiously, "Ah, very interesting system for species lacking photographic memories. Mental conditioning during childhood in order to minimize possible information leaks. Interesting applications. Just memory retention? Or also enhanced comprehension during rapid information intake? What sorts of mnemonics would be required? Interesting, interesting."

Valern's rapid musing was cut off when Sparatus interrupted bluntly, "While interesting, this is not the time, Valern. This meeting has a purpose we should now focus on."

Tevos nodded before saying, "I agree. There shall be more time for such topics during the negotiations. We should stay on the necessary topics." Valern looked disappointed to Naruto, but the councilor agreed with a nod.

Shepard questioned rather bluntly, "So what is this information you have for me?"

Sparatus quickly stated, "We have reports of geth activity at the human colony on Feros. This is our first lead on Saren. We want you to check it out, Shepard. As time is of the essence, a Council ship shall meet you in order to transfer the delegates from Shinno 3."

Naruto tilted his head before asking, "That is the second time you have used the name Shinno 3 for our planet. Is that what you are calling it?"

"Currently, yes. As the native species of the planet, your species naturally has the right to name it. Until we receive said name though, we had to make do with the Shinno 3 moniker. Your planet is located in the Shinno system, and is the third planet from the star. Thus Shinno 3. Is there a name you usually use for your planet?"

Naruto glanced briefly at Mei and Temari before slowly answering, "While we have extensively studied our environment, our people have not had much interest in astronomy unfortunately. The best name our people have for our planet would be 'Var Mor.' Which is an ancient language for 'Our Mother.'"

Valern nodded before saying, "Understood. We shall use Var Mor to refer to your planet until such a time that you officially name it otherwise."

Shepard quickly broke in to question, "When will the Council ship arrive to pick them up?"

"We shall send you the coordinates for the meeting point. The Council ship should arrive in approximately six hours," Sparatus informed them in a business voice.

"Understood, the Normandy shall be there," Shepard responded as she looked at the new coordinates on her Omni-Tool.

It looked like the meeting was over, but Naruto spoke up before the Councilors' holograms disappeared, "Actually Councilors, I have a request."

The councilors looked at each other in confusion before Tevos asked, "We shall at least hear it. We can't guarantee we'll grant it."

Naruto nodded in understanding before saying calmly, "Of course. I managed to get the full information on Saren and the Geth from Shepard."

Shepard flinched slightly as the councilors turned towards her, clearly none too happy. Sparatus quickly stated, "You do not need to worry, delegate Naruto. Shepard is acting with the full authority of the council to hunt down and eliminate Saren. Although we shall reinforce our desire that she keep her mission as secret as possible." Shepard nodded with a hard look on her face.

Naruto forced himself to ignore Shepard's discofort for a moment in favor staing seriously, "I wish to accompany Spectre Shepard on this mission."

Naturally, that shocked the Council into silence. The fast witted Valern was the first to recover, "That is not a very good idea, delegate Naruto. Shepard's mission is a very dangerous one, and you are an important delegate for your species."

"I agree with Councilor Valern. What possible reason do you have to request such a thing?" Tevos added with a frown.

"First of all, I am not quite as important to the negotiations as it might seem. While I hold great influence among the five kages, my position as head of the delegation is more honorary then anything. Mei and Temari are the two that shall conduct most of the negotiations," Naruto informed them calmly.

"I also am not daunted by the fact that this will be a dangerous mission. As a shinobi, I have placed myself into danger many times, for many different reasons. If anything, I am most suited to tasks with an element of danger. The reason I wish to go on this mission though is that I feel that something is entirely wrong with the situation, both instinctively and intellectually. My instincts as a warrior are telling me that there is something we do not know about the situation, and that there is a hidden danger involved. I have also found several discrepancies about the situation that do not make sense, even though I am not completely familiar with the galaxy yet," Naruto reasoned calmly.

Valern tilted his head before questioning, "And what are these discrepancies?"

Naruto decided to take the councilors' curiosity as a good thing. At least they were listening to him. He quickly questioned, "The first thing I don't understand is Saren's relationship with the Geth. How exactly has he gained their allegiance? The geth have apparently not ventured beyond this Perseus Veil, and no ship that has attempted contact with them hasn't returned. How could Saren have not only initiated contact with the Geth without his ship being destroyed, but also gain their allegiance?"

Tevos quickly responded, "On the audio recording, Saren mentioned the return of the Reapers, a race of sentient machines that the geth revere as gods. This council believes that he isn't in fact trying to bring back theReapers, but is using the geth's worship of them as a way to control them. By claiming to try and bring the Reapers back, he is in fact simply using the geth as a tool against the human species."

Naruto shook his head before arguing, "Do you really believe the geth would be so naïve as to follow Saren simply because of words? Aren't the geth living computers or something? I find it difficult to believe that they would follow Saren without some sort of assurance or proof."

"Interesting thought. Yes, geth are very intelligent. Is reasonable to suspect that more than words were needed for Saren to gain their participation," Valern muttered to himself.

Sparatus quickly stated, "You have a point, but it still lacks any conclusive proof to indicate anything greater. Saren had access to many resources, and he is a very cunning effort. It is not unbelievable that he could trick the geth or even find a way to control them."

Naruto shrugged before continuing, "I guess that is true. Another thing that bothered me though is Saren himself. I looked him up on the extranet. There was little definite information on him, but I did see several things that worried me. While he does have a documented hate of humanity, he was also recorded as being very loyal to the Council and ensuring galactic stability."

Sparatus nodded before explaining, "Yes. While he was rather…ruthless, he was still a very effective and dedicated individual. He couldn't have been chosen as a Spectre otherwise, or have been so successful at it."

"That is what I figured. So this actually is a very dynamic change of behavior if you look at it. He attacked Eden Prime because of the Prothean beacon. Not because it was a human colony. He did it to prevent study on the beacon. While this could be attributed to him wanting the Alliance to look bad, it still doesn't completely add up since it was going to be transported to the Citadel. Apparently this beacon would have been a great boon to all Citadel space. Its destruction harmed Citadel space too much for a loyal individual to even contemplate. If he wanted to humiliate the Alliance or keep Shepard out of the Spectres, there would have been numerous other opportunities to do it without harming the Alliance or the Council in the process. His utilization of geth is also peculiar. Spectres are supposed to ensure galactic stability, but the geth have in fact threatened it. Even under his control, their mere presence is a threat to every species. Not just humans. It is not what a dedicated Spectre would do, even with his hatred of humanity."

"He must have not wanted the Council to have the opportunity to study the beacon. So there was something the Prothean beacon had that threatened his plans. Considering the Protheans went extinct 50,000 years ago, the options of what it could be are very limited. The most likely being about their extinction. If the Protheans were more widespread and technologically advanced than your society, then their sudden extinction is incredibly suspicious. Infighting wouldn't be able to completely destroy them. In myths, the Reapers apparently destroyed the Protheans. If you apparently have a recording stating him saying that he is trying to bring about the return of the Reapers, then that seems to indicate that the Reapers are apparently involved somehow," Naruto finished evenly.

Valern quickly asked, "Is that all?"

Naruto though for a moment before continuing, "I also find the fact that Matriarch Benezia is working with Saren to be confusing. Not only has Liara, her daughter, vouched for her morals and ethics, but what I found on the extranet also shows that her participation to be out of character. If you add Saren, then that is two people who have exhibited severe personality changes that possibly indicate several worrying possibilities."

The councilors didn't respond for several moments to see if he had more to add. When he stayed silent, Sparatus started speaking in a serious tone, "While I find your knowledge of galactic affairs and your theories to be impressive, they are just that. Theories. They are just conjecture. They lack any sort of proof."

Naruto nodded before retorting, "True, but that doesn't mean they aren't true. When a person is smart and covers their trail, finding proof about their activities is difficult. Instead of just waiting for proof to show up, sometimes you need to act on conjecture. To be prepared for all possibilities. Maybe this is just a rogue spectre acting out on his hatred of humanity, but it also might be something more than that. If by any chance it does have something to do with the Reapers or something else sinister, it is better to be prepared. Even if the chance is small, I want to know if the Reapers are somehow involved in this whole affair. If they are what drove the Protheans to extinction, then I definitely want to know all I can about them. After all, my species is likely to become part of your galactic community soon. What better way to be prepared than investigating it myself? Since Shepard is chasing Saren, staying with her is the best option to figuring out what is really happening."

The councilors didn't respond for a while. Tevos turned to make eye contact with the other two. Finally she looked at Naruto and responded, "You do not have this Council convinced that the Reapers are involved in this affair. We cannot act without proof. However, we do acknowledge your argument and right to investigate your theories. As long as the negotiations continue on, we have no reason to deny you your request. As a Spectre, Shepard has the right to take whoever she desires onto her crew. Do you find his request agreeable, Spectre Shepard?"

Shepard straightened and immediately responded, "Absolutely, councilors. As I have stated in my reports, the combat potential of this species is outrageous. I have already seen Naruto in action, and heard of some of his other achievements. I received a report that he also defeated one of my crewmembers in hand to hand combat…It was a Krogan Battlemaster. Naruto is easily worth twenty soldiers. I feel that the success rate of this mission dramatically improves if he stays on."

Valern nodded before announcing, "Alright then. We shall grant your request to stay on the Normandy, delegate Naruto. However, as a member of Shepard's crew, there are several rules you must agree to. You are under Shepard's command, and thus follow any orders she gives you. As a crewmember of a Spectre, you also represent the Council. If you act in a way that embarrasses or endangers the Council, then we shall punish you. No diplomatic immunity shall apply. You must also agree that the success of the mission or your fate shall in no way impact the negotiations between us and your species."

"Of course. I agree to your terms, and shall make it clear to the kages," Naruto responded calmly.

Tevos nodded and stated, "Then this meeting is done. Council out." The three holograms immediately dissipated.

Naruto let out a sigh of relief as his shoulders relaxed. He then muttered aloud, "That went way better than I had thought it would."

"A little more warning would have been appreciated, Naruto," Temari commented in a deadpan voice.

Naruto turned to her and scratched his head awkwardly as he admitted, "Sorry, I was sort of making it up as I went. I knew I was going to ask them, but I honestly expected to be refused."

Mei nodded thoughtfully as she claimed, "I am actually surprised they let you as well. This seems to be something they want kept on the down low, not something to let an entirely new species to know all about."

"They are worried, for multiple reasons," a voice spoke behind them. The three turned to see Shepard standing there with her arms crossed. She quickly elaborated. "They won't admit it, but they are also worried by some of the same things you are. They just can't show it. They desperately want Saren brought down before he causes even more damage, and they probably think I need all the help I can get. They were also worried about getting on your bad side. They are very interested in establishing good relations with your species, and you clearly have enough pull with the five kages that they didn't want to anger you too much."

Naruto nodded towards Shepard before stating, "It seems I'm in your care, Shepard. I hope we get along."

"I'm sure I can figure out a good use for you. Just…don't get drunk again. I'll forget about the incident last night, but I might not be as forgiving next time," Shepard stated seriously. She then left the room, leaving the three shinobi alone.

Naruto turned to Mei and Temari before asking desperately, "What did I do last night?"

Both of them let out coquettish smirks before Temari claimed, "I'm surprised you forgot. I almost feel insulted. I guess as punishment, we won't tell you."

Naruto looked at Mei pleadingly, but her devious grin shot his hopes down. He finally muttered, "Fine. Be that way. Get our people gathered together. I need to talk to them."

Five minutes later, Naruto was staring at the other shinobi. He quickly explained Shepard's mission and his worried before elaborating, "So our group will split into two. Most of us shall go to the Citadel, while a smaller group stays here to help Shepard."

Mabui quickly asked, "Is it really all right for you to not participate in the negotiations, Naruto?"

Temari quickly answered with a depressed sigh, "Yes, it is alright. Trust me, if these aliens are anything like us, these negotiations are going to go on for a while. The first three months are probably going to mainly consist of small talk with every diplomat of every species. We'll be lucky if anything gets done within half a year."

Naruto nodded in agreement before adding, "Hopefully this mission will only be for a month or two, so I should be able to come back when things actually get serious. Let's get back to the groups though. Unfortunately, almost all of you serve a purpose that means you don't get a choice.

"Mei and Temari are both going to be heading the negotiations. I'm trusting you both to do your best in representing our species. You are also responsible in finding out any bit of information related to political affairs in this galaxy. We need to know everything about the governments of every different species. I know you'll do a better job than I ever could," Naruto said with a confident grin at the two. The two nodded in acknowledgement.

"Shikamaru and Shiho. You both are going to go to the Citadel as well. You also have a mission while there. You both are responsible for studying every bit of technology you can find. From how these spaceships work to how they make the doors open on their own. Every bit of information we gain from you two puts us at less of a disadvantage in negotiations." Shiho nodded and Shikamaru just let out a 'Troublesome!'

"Mabui, you shall also go to the Citadel. You are responsible for making reports on everything the others learn and sending this information to myself and to the five kages. Shiho, you managed to figure out a way to pick up messages before you left, right?"

Shiho quickly nodded and explained, "Yes, there might be a bit of time lag due to our distance from one of their comm buoys, but nothing extreme. Just a day or two. You should receive the reports almost instantly, as long as the Normandy doesn't venture into uncharted space."

"Good, you'll need to explain to Mabui how to send the reports," Naruto then turned to those remaining. Kurotsuchi, who was giving him a stink eye for some reason, Samui, Neji, and Tenten. Naruto quickly continued, "You four get to choose, but at least two of you should go to the Citadel."

Kurotsuchi immediately declared, "I'm staying here where I might have a few fights. I'm not going to spend the next several months playing diplomat."

Neji and Tenten looked at each other for a few moments before Neji stated, "Tenten and I shall go to the Citadel."

Samui thought for several moments before answering, "Either choice is cool, but I think staying on the Normandy sounds cooler."

"Alright, then this is your mission, Neji, Tenten. You are both to find out as much about their society as possible. I want to know the biology of every species and their typical behaviors. Try to figure out how their economies work. I also want you both to listen to any and all rumors. Anything unofficial or related to the underworld can be useful later. Basically, anything that the others won't be researching," Naruto ordered in a serious tone. The two nodded.

Naruto thought for several moments before finishing by stating, "I think that is all. The Citadel group needs to be ready to leave in five hours. Be ready for anything, guys. What we find out and do will influence how our entire world interacts with these people. My gut also is saying that something is wrong with Saren and this whole Reaper mission. We need to be ready for anything. Lives depend on us."

Omake: Naruto drunk? That is just asking for trouble!

Jane Shepard glared at Naruto angrily across the mess area. She had been getting some sleep when she had been very rudely awakened. Apparently Wrex and Naruto had gotten drunk and were causing havoc. The last straw for the crew was when Naruto attempted to open the airlock. Now she was being dragged into this. She had just slipped on some casual clothes before coming down here.

"You look angry, Shepard," Naruto innocently stated.

Shepard eye twitched in irritation. She angrily stomped toward Naruto as she ranted, "Oh, I am very angry. You endangered my entire crew. You are so lucky that the system has failsafes in place to prevent the airlock from being opened unless grounded." When she reached him, she tried to grab him by the ear. Unfortunately, he literally disappeared just before she grabbed him.

"I'm surprised, Shepard. I expected something more modest," a voice spoke from behind her.

Shepard spun around angrily to look at the widely grinning Naruto, but paused in confusion. Something felt…wrong. Her eyes finally settled on something in Naruto's hand. It was some red and lacy material. Her eyes widened in horror and her hands started patting her hips. Seeing what she was doing, Naruto's grin widened and he stretched the cloth out to show it was a thong. Shepard finally looked down and pulled her loose sweatpants away from her stomach to check herself.

She finally muttered in shock, "How the hell?"

Naruto just gave a mischievous grin before he commented, "I'm just that amazing. I'm currently thinking what to do with them though. Maybe I should sell them to Joker or Kaidan. I think they are both interested in you. I bet they would both be willing to buy a pair of underwear that you actually used."

Shepard was trembling in anger, her shock finally abating from how he somehow managed to take her underwear without her even noticing. She finally snapped furiously, "Don't you dare!"

Naruto just smashed his fist into his palm before declaring, "I know. I'll hang them from a flagpole over my tent to show my dominance and superiority over you."

Shepard lunged at him while screaming, "Give those back, you pervert!"

Once again though he disappeared right before she could grab him. Spinning around, she saw Naruto just grinning infuriatingly while twirling a larger piece of red lace around a finger. Shepard's eyes widened again, recognizing the material. Her hands patted her tank top covered chest to show that her bra was gone.

"I figured I need a few more undergarments to show my awesomeness. Thanks for the donations, but I still need a few more. Kurotsuchi, here I come!" Naruto declared loudly.

Shepard tried to lunge at him again, but he just ran away at a high speed. Shepard was about to go chase him, but paused as something occurred to her. He had taken her underwear whenever she tried to catch him. Since she was now going commando, what would he take the next time?…Not worth it, she decided after a few seconds of thought. Let Kurotsuchi deal with it. She then turned and walked back to her room.

**Yo, hope you enjoyed it.**

**I had a lot of talking in this chapter. Some of you will like this, others will be annoyed there wasn't more action. Most of Shepard was just summary that needed to be stated, like Naruto's history in the first chapter. The rest of it was necessary in my opinion. Possibly my favorite part of the games were about getting to know my crewmates, so Naruto will be doing that in my story. Wrex will be especially important for things later in the story. They won't be exactly like the game though. I'll be improvising with the general subjects. I also added a bit about Shepard. She'll be a Colonist and a War Hero. She'll also have a few problems that our lovable Naruto will help her work through. Other characters will also have a few more problems, like Liara having a few problems with the crew. Didn't happen in the game, but it was a good way for the two to grow closer.**

**There was a brief bit of action with Wrex, but I'm not to sure what to think about it. I'm not going to explain move for move what is going on, but I'll try to be specific enough for it to be enjoyable and easy to understand. Next chapter will probably be the start of Feros, so hopefully there will be more action for you fight nuts.**

**The talk with the council is a little boring, but necessary. Naruto would naturally have to put up a good argument to be allowed to participate in a top secret mission. I hope I made it realistic. I don't have much to go on for the councilor personalities. Just that Valern is a typical Salarian, Sparatus seems to be a pessimist, and that Tevos is a compromiser that will sometimes put the Asari above other races. I'm going to make their parts a little bigger in this story, so I would appreciate input for them. Anything you guys remembered about them from how they acted in the games or fun ideas for their personalities.**

**I had to come up with several names in this chapter. I gave Tevos the last name of Hathor, which is the Egyptian goddess of beauty, feminine love, and motherhood. Fit the Asari I guess. Sparatus got Horus, an Egyptian god of war. Fit the militant Turians. I just made up shit for Valern, since Salarian names include country, district, city, and clan. The Naruto world is going to be called Var Mor, which is Norwegian for Our Mother. I was going to do Aarde, which is Dutch for earth, but I thought Var Mor sounds awesome if you say it a certain way.**

**Naruto has a sort of telepathy. I thought it was natural step up since the Kyuubi allowed him to sense negative emotions. Now he can sense everything. This will also play a role later in the story.**

**Do not worry if one of the girls sent to the citadel is one of your favorites. I'll have the Normandy go there several times where those girls will get some time. Tenten is also out of the running. She'll be with Neji, although I have a few ideas for some funny conversation.**

**I am also taking mission requests from the first game. I can't do everything in the game. I'll do all the main missions, and also the loyalty missions. I'll also do several other missions, but I haven't decided which. If you remember a mission which you want to see Naruto participate in, just say which one and any possible ideas.**

**I also want to thank Vandenbz, who has agreed to become my beta. He corrected this chapter.**

**I think that is all. I'll be updating The General next…probably. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I welcome all reviews.**


	4. Feros

**You, Never Ending Dawn here. **

**I know i said i was going to update The General first, but i have some news about my other stories. I'm putting The General on hold, and likely won't restart it ever. I wrote some more, but problems arose. It is just so boring. I liked the originality of the general Naruto style, but i ended up not having Naruto have enough personal action. I planned for Naruto to command others to solve problems instead of doing it himself, but it has just ended up being mainly political bullcrap and stuff. It is simply too boring for me to write, much less for others to read. It is more a novel than a fanfic. If any other author wants to try their own hand at the idea, PM me.**

**The Jinchuriki of Mahora has also hit problems. Each time i reread it, i become more and more upset with how it has been written. Too many tangents and too slow paced. So i'll either rewrite it with the same plot idea or i'll do a different Naruto/Negima idea.**

**I also am going to address a question posed by XxAkuXxXTenshixX. He pointed out that the shinobi might not be create chakra off their home planet. The radiation produced by Var Mor is what initially forces a shinobi to create the Eezo isotopes in their body. I meant it to be more a catalyst though. Once they start producing these isotopes, the radiation becomes unnecessary. That will play a small issue during Mass Effect 2, but not now.**

**One more thing, i am using my right as author to ignore a timeline. It is actually six years since the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War. Naruto will be 23 instead of 20. I felt he needed to be a bit older, and that the hidden villages needed to have more time to recover from the war. Otherwise, nothing really changes.**

**Now, on to the story. P.S. This chapter was corrected by me beta, Vandenbz.**

Naruto faced the group that was about to leave the Normandy to head to the Citadel. Minutes before a ship at least twice the size of the Normandy had approached. It had quickly sent out a shuttle which had landed in the Normandy's storage area. It was to transport the group to the ship. Shepard was currently talking to the pilot of the shuttle, letting Naruto and Kurotsuchi talk to the departing group alone.

"You are in charge, Mei. Good luck," Naruto said.

Mei just chuckled before commenting, "We don't need luck. We've got skill. I'll make sure everything goes fine."

Naruto grinned and turned to Shikamaru. Handing over a rolled up scroll, Naruto informed him in a soft voice so that only this group could hear, "In this storage scroll is a large amount of valuable gems that I've collected over the years. A lot of these are larger than my fist. It is amazing how deep into the planet you can get by powering an Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Projection Technique with Bijuu chakra. I've kept these as a payment method when traveling, since some areas don't use traditional money. I have little doubt the Council will provide you guys with everything you need, but you probably won't have much pocket change. You'll probably need some for your…extracurricular activities. Find a gem cutter, and make sure you get a good price for them. Then use the money to do whatever you need to. Try to save the large ones for last though. I'm not sure how many more of them that size I can find, and I'm rather proud of them."

"Why are you giving it to me?" Shikamaru immediately questioned in annoyance.

"I've learned to never give females the money," Naruto stated bluntly.

Shikamaru took the scroll with a quick mutter of "Troublesome, but you have a point." Meanwhile the girls glared at Naruto. Naruto scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he realized what he had said.

Naruto gave one last wave as the group walked into the shuttle. The back of the Normandy opened with mass effect fields being used to keep them all from being spaced. The shuttle then left and the Normandy closed up again.

Shepard clapped her hands together to draw attention to herself before announcing, "We still have half a day before we reach Feros, but we should make sure we are ready. Naruto, Kurotsuchi, Samui. You three need to get suited up with some armor and weapons. Garrus, you help them with choosing some armor. Ashley, you help them choose a selection of weapons. I'm going to take care of some business." She then went to the elevator.

Naruto gestured for Kurotsuchi and Samui to follow him before walking over to Garrus. Naruto exclaimed with a smile, "We're in your care, Garrus. Please take care of us." Garrus wasn't confused by the saying, as he had heard it several times when he had been on their planet. He just quickly started.

"With current armors, you need to be mindful of a few things. Armors are scored on three different things. Damage protection, or the protection they offer from melee damage. Shields, which are what protect us from bullets. And Tech/Biotic protection, which protects you from numerous technical or biotic abilities. Depending on your role in the fighting, you'll be assigned an armor type. Light armors are for support type roles, like Kaidan or Tali. Medium armors are for more all-purpose units, like myself and Shepard. Heavy armors are for the frontline fighters, like Wrex and Ashley. So you'll have to tell me how you will probably fight in order to properly choose," Garrus informed them in a knowledgeable voice.

Naruto thought for a moment before asking curiously, "Hold on, what is the difference between light, medium, and heavy armors? Why are they better suited for each of these roles?"

"The difference is their weight and level of restriction on the user. The heavier the armor, the higher the three ratings are. The downside is that these armors are heavier and take far more strength to move in and effectively use. Krogans naturally have the strength, but most other species need a special type of gene therapy in order to make them strong enough for these armors. As an example, Ashley is far stronger than Kaidan despite most human females being physically less adept than males. This is due to her probably going through the needed gene therapy treatments after basic training when she was assigned a frontline role, and keeping a harsh physical regiment. Light armors require almost no training to effectively use, but have far lower ratings. So those with light armors are placed into support roles where they are expected to be in less danger," Garrus explained expertly.

"Wow Garrus, you really know this stuff," Naruto praised with a smile.

Garrus just chuckled before replying, "It is not that impressive. Turians learn about things like this from before they can walk. The military is part of every turian's life. So, what do you guys think?"

Naruto looked at Kurotsuchi and Samui briefly before answering, "I'll take a heavy armor. I'm sure I have more than enough strength for it." Garrus nodded in agreement.,

"I'll also take a heavy," Kurotsuchi added.

"A medium for me," Samui answered calmly.

Garrus nodded at their choice before questioning, "And what about the three ratings? If you are a close range fighter, you'll need more damage protection since you'll be in range of melee attacks. Mid or long range fighters need to worry more about shields."

Naruto shrugged and replied, "I'll probably be getting pretty close, but I'm durable enough to take melee damage on my own. So I'd prefer to have as much protection against guns as I can, in case I do something stupid."

"Of which there is no doubt," Kurotsuchi added in a biting tone. She'd been very short with Naruto for some reason.

Naruto did his best to ignore her, choosing to say to Garrus, "So give me something with very high level shields."

"Got it. I'll also make sure it has a good tech/biotic protection level. That one always seems to be overlooked, but it is necessary for anyone who doesn't want to be killed by the first engineer or biotic they run into. We're facing the geth as well, so they'll probably be trying to hack into our shields constantly. Let me take a look," Garrus commented as he rubbed his chin. He quickly started looking through some crates as he continued, "Our team has picked up quite a number of different armors in our adventures so far. Most of them are junk pieces, but there are a few gems in here."

"See if you can find a similar one for me. I'm a mid or long range fighter, so I need some strong shields," Kurotsuchi said to the turian.

"Same. I'm a support fighter, so I won't be getting close too often," Samui spoke up as well.

"Got it," Garrus replied easily as he continued looking through the crates. After a few minutes, he had three different suits of armor laid out. He tossed one to each of them before ordering, "Go put them on and tell me what you think."

"Are you sure we can't change the color scheme on these?" Naruto asked with a sigh. His armor was predominantly white with some gold around his shoulders, chest, elbows, and knees.

Garrus shook his head as he answered, "Nope. I don't see what you don't like about it. The phoenix armor series is white and pink, and they're one of the best armor series. I had to wear a set for a while."

"I don't know. A bit of orange would be nice. Or at least some sky blue or something," Naruto claimed with a shrug.

"Stop being a little girl worried about her clothes," Kurotsuchi said in a grumpy voice. Her armor was a camouflage design of gray and brown. An observant person would see that she was slightly uncomfortable with how tight it was. Kurotsuchi seemed to have a love of loose and unflattering clothing for some reason. This armor was tight enough to show that she did actually have a feminine figure, even if she couldn't quite compare to Samui's curvy figure.

Naruto quickly whined in a childish voice, "How cruel! You've been so mean to me lately, Kurotsuchi. What did I do to you when I was drunk to get you so annoyed?"

Kurotsuchi looked away with a slight blush, offering no answer. Naruto wasn't going to let her off without some sort of explanation, as he was starting to get annoyed with her mocking. It might seem the two had a rather antagonistic relationship, but the two had actually become quite close after the war. So Naruto was not very happy with the extra malice behind her mocking, and wanted to figure out just what he had done in order to fix it.

Unfortunately for him, and fortunately for Kurotsuchi, Samui chose that moment to walk back into the hangar. She wasn't in her armor. She handed it back to Garrus before bluntly explaining, "It didn't fit."

"What do you mean? These armors are made of materials that allow them to stretch in order to accommodate everyone. Your species is very similar in build to humans, so how could it not fit?" Garrus muttered in clear shock. Naruto stared at her breasts with a deadpan look, which Garrus soon followed in order to realize what the issue was. Samui had a small blush of embarrassment as Garrus continued in an awkward voice, "I see. It is true that most human females aren't so…large, especially soldiers. I guess we'll have to make a special order when we are next on the Citadel. So you'll have to stay on the Normandy for this mission."

"Okay. I'll tell Shepard after we get outfitted with weapons," Naruto responded with a shrug.

Garrus nodded before telling them, "So you and Kurotsuchi should go to Ashley to get outfitted."

Naruto nodded and quickly walked the ten meters to where Ashley was polishing several rifles. She quickly looked at the group before commenting, "I see you guys got outfitted with armor. Unfortunately, I'm not so sure what I can do for you all. Guns need a certain degree of skill and training in order to properly use them. Any idiot can hold and fire a gun, but real soldiers need to be able to do more than that." Naruto raised an eyebrow at the condescending tone she used when she said 'realsoldiers'.

"Don't worry, Ashley. The commander let Naruto test out our weapons when we were stuck there. Naruto's a crack shot. After only a few test shots he was shooting like the best marksman of any species. Can turn a pistol into a sniper rifle with his sharp eyesight," Garrus yelled over.

Ashley clearly looked like she doubted that, but eventually shrugged and caved. She turned to the two and explained, "There are several different types of guns. An assault rifle, which is a very versatile weapon. Usually used at mid range against opponents with high shields. Shotguns are used at short range. Pistols are typically the weapon of choice for support troops. Lower damage and firing speed, but useful for supplementing tech or biotic abilities. Then there are sniper rifles, which fire a single high damage round. Highly accurate, these weapons are usually used to take out the enemy's support type troops that hang out in the back and have lower shields. There are also grenades, which are used to damage groups of enemies that cluster together."

"What about the differences between weapons within a single category?" Naruto questioned as he absorbed the information.

Ashley nodded before answered, "All weapons have three different things you need to keep in mind. Damage output, firing rate, and accuracy. Each weapon is assigned a rating in these three categories, just like armor."

Naruto nodded as he thought about what weapons he would use. He finally announced, "Then can you please give me a pistol and an assault rifle. Please make them have the highest damage and accuracy rating as possible. I don't care about firing rate."

Ashley raised an eyebrow at his choices, but acquiesced with a shrug. It only took a minute for her to return with the weapons. Kurotsuchi then asked for her own weapons. She chose a shotgun and assault rifle with the same specifications as Naruto.

"I see that you both are types that prefer precision to brute force," Ashley commented as she handed Kurotsuchi her weapons.

Kurotsuchi then left, probably annoyed with the way Ashley had been treated them. Naruto stayed though and replied, "Any shots that miss are wasted shots. I'd rather finish my opponents in a single powerful shot to a weak area than reply on five weaker bullets to more protected areas. Shinobi are meant to cause the greatest amount of damage with the least amount of force required."

"A good philosophy, but actually doing it is harder than talking about it. When you are outnumbered and under fire, it isn't quite so easy," Ashley replied.

Naruto leaned against the wall as he examined Ashley. Finally he questioned, "You don't much like aliens, do you?"

Ashley let out a rather unlady-like snort before she answered, "I have nothing against aliens. In my opinion, we're all just animals."

"Then why are you acting like you do?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ashley looked like she debated internally for several moments before finally replying, "I don't have anything against aliens. I just don't particularly like them either or how the commander is relying on them."

Naruto tilted his head in confusion before asking, "Can you elaborate?"

Ashley quickly began explaining in a rather irritated voice, like she had been holding it in for a while, "The commander is a firm believer in the belief that humanity should build closer relationships with the other races. It is likely one of the reasons she was chosen as a Spectre by the Council. Better to have a pro-Council human instead of an anti-Council human. It is also why we have so many aliens as part of the crew. The commander feels that the more help the better."

"And you disagree?"

"I think that humanity needs to learn to stand on its own. Saren is targeting humanity, and humanity should deal with him. Instead the commander is trying to turn this into a multiracial effort. The only combat members of this crew that are human are myself, Kaidan, and the commander. Otherwise we consist of a quarian who spends allday in the engine room being allowed to study the most advanced ship in the Alliance, a krogan mercenary, a turian who used to work for C-Sec, an Asari who is an expert on the Protheans, and now your group. Three people who have no knowledge of the galaxy or any experience in galactic combat. I respect the commander, but I think I am being reasonable by being annoyed by some of her decisions," Ashley angrily blurted out in a rush.

Naruto didn't react to her words for several moments. He finally asked, "Feel better?"

Ashley took a few breaths before shrugging and answering truthfully, "Yeah. I guess I do."

"I've said it before and I'll say it again. Talking about your problems always makes you feel better," Naruto exclaimed with a sunny grin. Ashley couldn't hold back a small smile at that. Naruto grew serious again though and continued, "As for your thoughts, they are reasonable. You are forgetting a few things though. You act as if Saren is only a threat to humans. While it is true that he attacked a human colony, you also have to acknowledge the danger he presents to other races. He shamed theCouncil by betraying them and going rogue, he destroyed a beacon which could have helped the entire galaxy, and he has an army of geth at his command. Don't even get me started on the Reapers."

"The Alliance can handle it alone!" Ashley exclaimed defiantly.

Naruto just stared at her intensely before speaking slowly, "That isn't the question here. The proper question is does the Alliance want to have to handle it alone? The entire Council is based around the idea that cooperation and standing together benefits those involved more than standing alone does. Considering that the Council has survived 3,000 years, it must have something going for it. So you need to ask yourself. Is it to the benefit of humanity to stand alone, or is it just a matter of pride?"

Ashley still looked defiant, but didn't respond. Naruto shrugged and walked away. Everyone was entitled to their own opinion.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxx

"You wanted to talk about something, Doctor Chakwas," Shepard said as she walked into the medical bay. She had been searching for information on Feros when the doctor had sent a message requesting her presence.

Doctor Chakwas looked up from her computer. As she was standing, she replied, "Yes, I did. Thanks for coming to speak to me even before a big mission."

"No problem, but what did you want to talk about?" Shepard calmly answered.

Chakwas gestured for Shepard to get closer and turned the screen of her computer. Shepard peered at it to see that it was several diagrams of humans. Chakwas explained, "I was curious, and the shinobi were quite cooperative. They allowed me to conduct several scans and tests on them. I thought you might want to hear what I found out before you take any of them on the mission."

"Good idea. I'd want to know if medi-gel doesn't work on them or if there are any other issues. So what did you find out?" Shepard spoke in a strong tone.

Doctor Chakwas look back to the computer screen before beginning, "I'm not quite sure where to begin. I found out a lot about them, but it only seems to have sparked more questions in my mind. First thing first, they clearly aren't human despite our aesthetic similarities. In fact, if I had to choose another species to compare them to, I'd say their internal structure more closely resembles the Krogan than humans.

That caused Shepard to raise an eyebrow in shock before exclaiming, "Really!? The Krogan!?"

Doctor Chakwas chuckled slightly at the reaction before pulling up a screen which showed a scan of one of the shinobi. Pointing to it, she continued, "I'll start with what you already know. They are built very similarly to humans, and even resemble humans greatly. When you dig deeper though, many differences pop up. First, I shall talk about their muscular structure. I'll skip the medical terms, but theirs is far more efficient than any other species. Their muscles differ on a cellular level that has only been theory before now. One of the main differences their muscle structures allow from other species is that their muscles grow inwards, you could say. Most species' muscles expand outwards, but theirs simply grow more dense and compact. This is why they seem to be of a slimmer build than most humans. This muscular structure causes their species to have tremendous natural strength. I lack the data necessary to accurately portray their level of strength compared to humans or other Citadel races, but I can guarantee they are far stronger than any races other than the elcor and krogan. That is only due to a much lower amount of muscle than losing to them in muscle efficiency. An interesting fact, if we use Shiho as an example of the muscle density of their civilians, since she has reportedly undergone little physical conditioning, then I could say that their species would average at having 40% more mass than humans of similar size. Naruto weighs 279 pounds, despite being similar in build to a human weighing 180 pounds. This puts him at having 55% more mass."

"Then there is their skeletal system. They only have 189 bones in their skeletal system. Their bones are also composed of an organic material that is both lighter and more supple than humans without sacrificing any durability. The bones themselves seem to be thicker in order to better handle their incredible levels of strength and power."

"Their nervous systems would put even an asari to shame. While they aren't able to attune their nervous systems to others like the asari, they have an incredible amount of control over them. The greatest difference is the amount of energy in their nervous systems. It is staggering. To generate this much energy requires massive amounts of calories. A human biotic has to consume 4,500 calories in order to effectively utilize their biotics. I'd say each of them would need to consume over 10,000 calories a day. Mr. Uzumaki is on a completely different level though. He probably consumes as much as the entire crew of the Normandy. They seem to have prepared special nutrient bars in order to not burden you, but I'd suggest we greatly increase the amount of food we regularly have in stock if we intend to have even a couple of them on board for any duration of time. They should be able to eat human or asari food with little problems."

"Their species seems to have a slightly enhanced regenerative capability. Nothing compared to a vorcha or krogan, but better than humans or turians. I checked, and medi-gel seems to work so well for them that it is almost unnatural. I should tell you though that Naruto has a very good regeneration ability. At least on par with a krogan or vorcha."

"The reason that I said their internal composition is closest to the krogan is due to their organs though. Like the krogan, this species seems to have instances of secondary and tertiary organs. A krogan has two hearts, four lungs, and even four testicles. This species seems to have two livers, four kidneys, and two spleens. Unlike the krogan though, their organs are segmental. We'll use their liver as an example. Instead of having two separate livers, they have one large organ composed of two separate working livers. Even if one is damaged, they would not suffer system failure. Their biggest worry would be blood loss. In fact, their regenerative capabilities seem centered around restoring damaged organs to a working condition. This grants them incredible protection against death by stab wounds. Their only 'weaknesses' would be the heart, brain, and spinal column. Considering these are fatal to all except krogan and vorcha, then it isn't really a weakness."

"Their lungs are incredible as well. It is difficult to explain without going into technical terms. Simply put, their lungs are able to better able to handle different levels of oxygen concentrations. I'll compare them to humans on earth. Earth's atmosphere is about 20% oxygen. Humans breathe this in. We exhale air that has approximately 16% oxygen. So humans are only able to extract around a fifth of the oxygen we breathe in. So if we are on a planet with an atmospheric composition of only 15% oxygen, we would extract a quarter less oxygen per breath. That would be too little to successfully colonize that planet. This also applies to Asari, turians, salarians, and most oxygen breathing sentient species. It seems that carbon based life tends to evolve on planets that fit these conditions. So all the oxygen breathing species can only easily colonize planets with an oxygen level between 18-22%. A rather small range. There are plenty of planets just outside this range, like Aratoht or Niacal. Both require rebreathers and domed habitats."

"Sorry, I'm getting off topic. Basically this species' lungs are capable of changing the percentage of oxygen they absorb. They have highly advanced and efficient alveoli, which is the part of our lungs which extracts carbon dioxide from our lungs and replaces it with oxygen. The main thing you need to know is that their body only uses a portion of their alveoli in daily activity. The rest lay dormant until they are needed. One unfortunate side effect of their muscular system, multiple organs, and overpowered nervous system is that they need far higher levels of oxygen. This amount also increases to ridiculous levels when they engage in strenuous physical activity. So that is why the majority of their alveoli lay dormant until needed. They then activate in order to increase the amount of oxygen running throughout their body, only to go dormant again when their body settles down."

"This would give them incredible cardiovascular endurance, but it also will theoretically allow them to breathe and function in a wider range of oxygen concentrations than other species. Too little oxygen in the atmosphere, their bodies will naturally increase the amount they take in with each breath. Too much and more alveoli will shut down. Their highly advanced alveoli also seem to cut down on the intake of other gases besides oxygen as well. They could seemingly survive on and colonize planets with oxygen levels too low or other toxic gases too high in concentration for other species. The lungs are also resistant to damage. A bullet wound to a lung might incapacitate or hamper them, but it likely wouldn't be lethal."

"In summary, commander, this species seems specifically designed for war and combat. Greater strength, speed, stamina, durability, and regeneration. They could even survive and fight on toxic or dangerous worlds. In fact, it is almost suspicious how well suited to combat this species is. Not to mention the how physically advanced they are,," Doctor Chakwas finished in a hesitant voice.

Shepard meanwhile was rubbing her temples as she tried to absorb all the information just presented to her. It was a lot to take in. The summary was that this species seemed very well suited for battle, but as a commander, Shepard had to try and remember all of what she was hearing. It might come in handy. Especially with that ending, which she really didn't like the sound of.

She finally asked, "What do you mean?"

Doctor Chakwas explained slowly, "They just seem too…perfect to be natural. As a species' intelligence grows, a species usually will lose certain traits that were more important to survival before. They lose more animalistic or bestial traits in favor of more…developed traits like larger brains and opposable thumbs. They start to rely on their intelligence in order to adapt to survive. Yet this species seems to have both. They are extremely physically adept, but also seem to have all the traits of more developed species. They seem to have the intelligence of any of the spacefaring species, while only the krogan could reasonably claim to match them in physical prowess. Considering the krogan come from a highly dangerous and brutal world while this species comes from a relatively docile and fertile world, then it all seems…unnatural."

"You think something is wrong with their species?" Shepard asked curiously.

Doctor Chakwas shook her head and sat down before saying, "Never mind, commander. I shouldn't tell you of such things right before an important mission, especially when I have no real proof. I'll continue reviewing the data and conducting tests that the shinobi approve of. If I find anything else, I'll tell you."

Shepard shrugged and acquiesced. Instead she asked, "So the shinobi are ready for combat?"

"More than ready, I'd say. Only Wrex might be more of a challenge for the enemy to put down, and I seriously doubt that we have seen everything they have to offer," Chakwas stated with a wry grin.

Shepard chuckled and agreed, "Of that I have little doubt. Naruto seems like the kind of person that always manages to surprise you. It can be almost disconcerting in a way."

"I agree. Despite that though, his heart is in the right place. That I can tell. So all we can do is hope that we get the pleasant surprises while Saren gets the bad ones," Doctor Chakwas stated merrily. The two shared a laugh together for several moments. As it died down, Chakwas added, "I'm glad he's here though."

Shepard raised an eyebrow before asking, "What do you mean?"

"He is a very good influence. I can see it in his eyes. He knows hardship and pain. He has experienced much for being so young, but he is still so energetic, hopeful, and strong. Just having him around brings out the good in everyone around him. He's only been here for a few days, but he's already influencing the crew. Did you know thathe's already memorized the names of everyone on the ship?" Doctor Chakwas asked with a calm smile.

"No. I didn't," Shepard answered, slightly discouraged. She didn't know everyone's name. She's always kept a professional distance from her crew. To know a newcomer on the ship had already interacted more with her crew than herself made her feel…guilty.

"He seems to enjoy wandering around and talking to everyone. It is subtle, but the crew is a bit more determined and confident than before. When on a mission like ours, it is nice to have someone like Naruto around. Always carefree and cheerful when the mood needs to be lifted, and always willing to lend an ear and some friendly, and surprisingly wise, advice for any problems the crew is having. He seems to have an aura that just makes people trust him. People have been more relaxed and carefree since he arrived. I mean, look at you."

Shepard blinked in shock before exclaiming, "Me?! What do you mean?"

Doctor Chakwas chuckled before commenting, "It is pretty clear. No offense, but I doubt we'd be having this conversation if you hadn't ever gone to that planet. You would probably have asked for a summary of my findings to be sent to your computer. Even if you had come down you certainly wouldn't have stayed to chat like this."

Shepard sputtered slightly as she tried to come up with a response. Had she really been acting differently lately? Sure, she had always made sure to keep a professional distance between herself and most people, but it wasn't like she was rude or antisocial. Although once she started thinking about it she did have to admit that she probably wouldn't have been talking to Doctor Chakwas like this with her earlier mindset. And could her slightly changed behavior be traced to Naruto? She did admit that she quite enjoyed the blonde's company compared to most people she had interacted with, but she wouldn't go so far as to say they were truly close. She had only known him for a short while. Could he really be influencing her without herself realizing it?

Seeing Shepard's thoughtful look, Doctor Chakwas continued, "No need to worry, commander. It is good to see you like this. You are…smiling a bit more now."

Shepard didn't know how to respond to that, but luckily she didn't have to when Joker's voice announced over the intercom, "We are about to enter orbit around Feros, commander. ETA 10 minutes."

Shepard gratefully took the excuse to leave. As she left to prepare, she wasn't quite sure what to think about the change she had apparently undergone without even noticing. She left a softly smiling Doctor Chakwas, who knew that what the commander was going through was good for her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hey, Shepard. I need to tell you something," Naruto called out as he approached. Naruto took note that Shepard flinched slightly at the sound of his voice and seemed to hesitate before facing him. Deciding to forget about it for now, Naruto continued, "Yeah, Samui had a small issue with armor. Garrus says we'll have to order a custom armor when we next go to the Citadel. Until then though she won't have any armor, so she can't go into combat."

Shepard just shrugged and claimed, "No problem. We can't send everyone anyway. I probably would have only sent two of you. This has just saved me from having to make a decision."

"Just wanted you to know before we land," Naruto added with a shrug.

Shepard nodded. She shifted awkwardly and Naruto caught her sending some questioning glances towards him when she thought he wasn't looking. He was going to question her, but Joker once again came to her rescue by announcing over the intercom, "We're in orbit, commander, but I haven't received any response to our communication efforts."

"Take us down, Joker. The geth are there, they might have a communication jammer in effect," Shepard quickly explained.

"Got it, commander. It should just take a few minutes."

Shepard nodded and moved a small distance from Naruto before turning to look at the combat crew which had gathered in the hangar. She quickly started explaining, "You've probably already heard, but we are about to arrive on Feros. There is a small and relatively new human colony on the planet with a population of only 300. The colony is funded by the ExoGeni Corporation. The colonists work for ExoGeni in return. We have received a report that geth had attacked. There must be something there that concerns Saren. We are going to go in, clear out the geth, and try to figure out just why Saren sent them there." When everyone nodded, Shepard started again.

"We now have enough crew that we can send in more than before. So we'll be sending in two teams of three. I'll be heading one, and Naruto will be in charge of the other," Shepard informed them calmly. She was surprised though when Naruto cut her off by raising his hand. Sweat-dropping slightly at the childish action, she asked, "Yes? What is it, Naruto?"

"Should I really be leading one of the teams?" He immediately questioned. When Shepard gave him a confused look, so he elaborated, "I know I'm awesome. I'll be the first to point that out, but I also must admit that I lack experience in your style of combat. I can naturally adapt quickly, but it might not be a good idea to have me in charge right now. This is my first mission with you guys after all. Garrus would be a better choice. Wrex or Kaidan would probably work as well."

Naruto enjoyed the looks on everyone's faces. He knew exactly what they were thinking. Naruto noticed that ever since he grew up and became more serious that people naturally seemed to look to him for leadership. They were probably surprised to realize that his argument made sense. It really wasn't smart for him to be put in charge on his first mission, and they were all clearly surprised that they hadn't noticed it before.

Shepard recovered quickly though, and nodded before responding, "All right. Garrus, you'll be the one leading the second team."

Garrus seemed surprised, but automatically straightened and replied, "Of course, commander."

"We need to make sure these teams are suited for fighting the geth. So each team should have at least one person with technical skills. Alright, so these will be the teams. I'll take Kurotsuchi and Tali. Garrus, you'll take Naruto and Kaidan. So make any last minute adjustments before meeting at the exit," Shepard ordered confidently. She then turned and left.

Naruto thought for a moment before shrugging. He started leaving, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He looked to see that it was Garrus. Turning, Naruto asked with a grin, "Hey, Garrus. What's up?"

"You didn't have to do that."

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed at the statement before he questioned, "What do you mean? Do what?"

"Give me command," Garrus stated. Seeing the confused look on Naruto's face, Garrus quickly elaborated, "You could have been in charge. I'm sure you could have adapted to the different tactics and style of combat quickly. I would have been fine with you in charge. So why did you nominate me?"

Naruto blinked as he tried to come up with a response. He finally commented bluntly, "I don't really understand what the big deal is, Garrus. I'm not so arrogant as to believe I deserve to be in charge. As I explained before, I should get a little bit of experience first. Until then, someone else should be in charge. As for nominating you, the choice was pretty obvious I think."

"Huh, what do you mean?" Garrus asked with confusion clear in his voice.

Naruto raised an eyebrow before claiming easily, "I've gotten a pretty good read on everyone since I came aboard the Normandy. You are easily the best suited to leading a strike team."

"What?" Garrus exclaimed in shock and slight disbelief.

"You clearly a lot of leadership potential. Don't tell me no one has noticed before?" Naruto remarked with surprise.

Garrus shook his head before claiming, "No. I usually worked alone in C-Sec. Executor Pallin seemed to think that I was too much of a wild card. Didn't want me to corrupt anyone else. I didn't mind though. I prefer to work alone."

"That's a shame. You are a natural leader. Many of the crew members Shepard have brought on have a lot of leadership potential, but you are most suited to leadership at this point," Naruto claimed with confidence.

Garrus immediately pointed out, "You keep saying that, but you have absolutely nothing to base it on. You haven't even seen me in combat before."

Naruto motioned with his hand for Garrus to follow as he made his way over to the elevator. As the elevator started to lift them, Naruto started speaking in a cool and slow voice, "Leaders are a funny thing. It requires more than just being able to give orders. They need something that inspires others to follow them, and that something isn't always so clear. Sometimes it is intelligence. Sometimes it is experience. Passion, heritage, courage, skill, charisma. They all could be that something. All I know is that all true leaders have that something that elevates them beyond the norm, sometimes even unwillingly. You fit the bill, Garrus. Even if you don't see it yet." The elevator opened, so the duo started walking up the curved stairs to the command deck.

"No offense, but I just think you're full of crap," Garrus finally stated as the two walked across the command deck.

Naruto immediately let out a booming laugh, causing Garrus to jump and everyone else on the deck to look towards him curiously. This wasn't a chuckle or controlled laugh. It was loud, wild, and contained a hint of childish glee. It took several seconds for Naruto to control himself before he looked at Garrus and replied with a large grin, "Possibly. It has happened before, and even I admit I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed. I guess we'll just have to wait and see." The two stopped in the middle of the command deck.

"Geez, what was with your reaction?" Garrus asked curiously.

"I guess it felt nice to have someone tell me I'm full of crap again," Naruto admitted with a shrug. Seeing Garrus' confusion, Naruto elaborated, "I guess you could say that I became a larger than life figure since the war. The kages and my friends realize I'm still the same knucklehead I was before, but to everyone else I may as well be a god. Since we technically categorized the Juubi as a real god. The daimyos and even the kages seek my advice, and my advice seems to always be heeded. Needless to say when you are put onto a pedestal reserved for the gods, being treated like a normal person is a breath of fresh air that I don't get enough of."

"I really can't understand how you feel. Never experienced something like that to compare it to," Garrus confessed after several seconds of contemplation.

Naruto waved his hand in a carefree manner before retorting, "I don't expect you to. This is my burden to bear. Enough about this stuff. Let's go meet up with Shepard." Garrus nodded and the two quickly moved down the hallway till they joined the group that had already gathered.

Shepard looked at the two before nodding and stating, "Good, everyone is here and ready."

Naruto cut her off before she could continue by saying, "Hold on, I just need to do one last thing." He ignored the group's looks as he placed a finger against the inside of his right wrist. Sending a tiny pulse of chakra, the storage seal released two different blades. Naruto easily caught them. It was a pair of slim, straight, double-edged blades with each having upward curved prongs at the tip and base. Naruto quickly placed the two on his back in a way that they didn't interfere with the assault rifle also there.

"Really!? Swords?" Kaidan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What? I love using swords ever since I took the time to learn kenjutsu. I'm sure they'll come in handy," Naruto stated with a grin. He then pulled out one of the swords before adding in an almost lovingly voice, "Plus, these aren't just any swords. These two blades make up Kiba. Kiba is one of the Seven Swords of the Mist, seven of the strongest swords on my world. After the war I was placed in charge of all but one since they didn't have any users. Four of those have been given to people who can properly use them. I use Samehada more often, but I think Kiba suits this situation more." Gripping the handle, Naruto sent lightning chakra through the blade, causing them all to back up besides Kurotsuchi. Satisfied, Naruto placed the sword on his back.

Shepard was the one who asked in a cautious voice, "Samehada?"

Grinning like a shark, Naruto quickly unsealed the chakra devouring blade. Since Naruto didn't bother wrapping the blade, it was unleashed in its awesome and totally terrifying form. The living blade was engorged with its scales sticking out. It even opened its mouth and let out a disturbing sort of laugh.

The group had been cautious before from watching Kiba spark with electricity, but they were totally terrified by the appearance of Samehada. Jumping back, Tali immediately exclaimed, "Keelah, what is that thing!?"

Naruto frowned and pet Samehada, causing it to start preening, before responding, "Don't be rude. You're hurting its feelings."

"…That thing is a sword?" Shepard finally managed to ask while watching Samehada like a hawk.

Naruto just grinned viciously as he answered, "Yes, but not the usual kind. Samehada doesn't cut, it shreds!" Looking at the sharp edges of the scales, the group let out a simultaneous shiver at the thought of it.

"And it is…alive?" Shepard questioned.

Naruto continued to pet Samehada as he replied, "Yep, although it might be best to think of it as an animal. It is intelligent, but it really doesn't care about anything other than eating and fighting. The concept of reason and logic simply don't exist for Samehada. It is ruled by instincts." Samehada let out a cute (disturbing) giggle at that.

Shepard sighed as she commented, "So now your species are able to give sentience to a sword. Why am I not surprised?"

Naruto waved his hand as he quickly interjected, "Don't worry. Samehada is a special case. No one really knows how it was made. The blacksmith who made it also made the other swords. He somehow gave each of them special abilities, but never passed on how he did this."

"Special abilities? Like what?" Garrus quickly questioned.

"They are varied. Kiba is able to convert raw chakra into lightning natured chakra. This means any shinobi can enhance their sharpness. So they are often called the sharpest swords in existence. Samehada is sentient, and thus is actually capable of rejecting someone who is trying to use it. Spikes erupt out of the handle if it rejects you. Not pleasant. Samehada's greatest ability though is its ability to devour chakra. Against shinobi such an ability is literally invaluable. Not so much here though. I assume that it could eat the dark energy that constitutes biotics. Since we are going to be fighting geth though, I don't think such an ability will be useful. Samehada probably wouldn't like being used to bash in machines either. So I'll stick with Kiba for now," Naruto explained as he resealed Samehada after giving it another pet. The group relaxed once Samehada was sealed away again.

"Are you ready now?" Shepard quickly asked Naruto. After he nodded, Shepard spoke aloud, "Joker, how much longer till we dock?"

"Just a minute commander. We're coming in now."

Shepard nodded and quickly commanded, "We'll leave the ship immediately after landing. We'll stay as one group for now. Stay alert. We still haven't received any communication from the colony. The geth might have wiped them out already. We'll check to see if there are any survivors and then go from there."

The group nodded. They each pulled out a weapon and readied themselves. It took another thirty seconds or so for the light to go off showing they had docked. The group quickly moved out, with Shepard leading. As soon as she hit the fresh air, she scanned the surroundings. She waved them forward after making sure it was clear. As the group advanced forward, Naruto caught movement from the corner of his eye.

"Commander," he uttered. He then jerked his head to point her in the direction as he continued, "It looks like we are about to find about any survivors."

Shepard looked to see a young man sprinting towards them. Lowering her weapon, but still keeping a firm grip on it, she walked up to meet him. He stopped and took a few deep breaths before exclaiming in clear relief, "Finally! We thought no one was ever going to come help."

"Calm down. What is the situation?" Shepard calmly questioned.

The man looked surprised before blurting out, "What do you mean? How can you not know what is going on?"

Shepard's eye twitched in irritation, but she kept her cool long enough to explain, "The geth seem to have set up a communications jammer somewhere. Any messages you've tried to send haven't gotten through. The entire colony is silent to the rest of the galaxy. All we got was a quick message saying that the geth were attacking. So what is the situation?" She ended in a commanding tone.

"They attacked out of nowhere. People were killed before we even knew what was happening. We were pushed back to Zhu's Hope before we could even put up a defense. We're holding on, but the geth are attacking every few hours. We're exhausted and almost out of supplies. We were really starting to lose hope before you arrived," He explained rapidly.

Shepard nodded before asking, "Do you know why the geth are here?"

The man shook his head before answering, "No, I'm sorry. You should talk to Fai Dan. He's our leader. He can tell you more."

Shepard opened her mouth to say something else, but something caught Naruto's eye. He quickly yelled, "Get into cover!"

The entire squad reacted immediately and dived into what sparse cover the walkway provided. The man didn't though, instead looking around in confusion. Naruto growled before using a burst of speed to grab the man and drag him into cover behind a crate right before several bursts of gunfire erupted. The geth had been sneaking up behind them while they were distracted by the conversation.

Naruto looked at the man and ordered, "Stay down and don't move." Naruto didn't bother waiting for him to answer before he acted.

Naruto pulled out his pistol and popped up, ready to shoot, but didn't shoot a single shot before quickly taking cover again. Naruto cursed as he realized something he had forgotten to ask. Where the hell do you hit one of these walking computers to shut them down? Sighing as he realized he had to rely on some brute force for now, Naruto switched his pistol for his assault rifle.

Naruto saw Tali shooting at one of the enemies, but she then was forced to take cover when return fire came. Using the direction she had been facing to find a rough location of the enemy, Naruto popped up. Immediately seeing the geth, Naruto unleashed a burst of gunfire. It's still recovering shields were quickly taken down, allowing Naruto to blow off its flashlight head thingy. Naruto then dropped down before the rest of the geth could focus on him.

"Naruto!" Naruto focused on Shepard, who quickly started using basic hand signs to give him orders. It was very easy for Naruto and Kurotsuchi to fully memorize the Alliance hand signs when Shepard had given them a copy. Naruto nodded in understanding to the plan. Shepard signed to the others. She then yelled, "Now!"

Kaidan, Tali, Garrus, and Kurotsuchi all popped up and unleashed a wave of fire upon the remaining geth. Naruto and Shepard meanwhile dashed forward while the geth were distracted by the suppression fire. Both of them took cover far closer to the remaining geth. When the cover fire ended, Naruto and Shepard both unleashed another wave of fire from close range as the geth popped up. Several fell, and the rest of the group moved forward as well.

The team quickly started advancing and bringing down the geth after that. They soon hit a snag though. Several geth had posted up in a concrete structure just around a 90 degree turn of the walkway. Garrus and Shepard had managed to squeeze into what little cover there was, but they were prevented from even emerging from their cover due to the geth taking turns in laying suppression fire. If anyone went around the curve they would be wide open to the geth fire.

"Naruto! Do you have any tricks that can help us here?" Shepard managed to say coolly despite a burst of gunfire hitting the ground just a few inches from her hip.

"Of course," Naruto replied with a carefree grin. Naruto turned to Kurotsuchi and spoke, "Kurotsuchi! Shunshin in five. I got the left, you take the right." She nodded in acceptance.

In unison, the two made a hand sign and disappeared with only a gust of wind to announce their departure. They then appeared silently between the geth. Without the geth even realizing that they were there, the two attacked. Naruto drew one blade of Kiba and slashed the nearest geth in half. He then lifted his other hand, which had his assault rifle, and unleashed fire upon the other from barely four feet away. Its shields quickly dropped and the geth was immediately destroyed by the point-blankassault.

Naruto lowered his rather hot weapon and turned to see that Kurotsuchi had taken out the other two. The two exchanged a nod and Naruto called out, "Shepard! It's clear."

Shepard quickly moved towards them. She glanced at the destroyed geth before commenting, "Nice job."

Naruto shrugged before joking, "It's kind of what we do."

Shepard shook her head before turning to the man from before that was walking towards them nervously. She immediately ordered, "We'll advance towards Zhu's Hope, taking out all the geth along the way. Follow, but make sure to stay far enough back that you aren't in any danger. Everyone else, be careful. Naruto, Kurotsuchi. You two are the closest thing to shock troopers that we've got right now, so you'll be in front. Garrus and I shall follow, with Tali and Kaidan in the back." The group nodded and quickly started moving forward.

Naruto eyed their surroundings as the group walked into a structure filled with concrete stairs, making sure to check if there were any hostiles. He tilted his head slightly as he heard a slight scratching noise. Without looking he lifted his left hand and spoke, "Chidori Sharp Spear."

Sparks danced along his arm before it solidified into a rapidly expanding spear. It soon pierced into one of the concrete pillars. Naruto turned his head to see that he had pierced a weird looking geth that had been sticking to the wall right through the chest. The thing was struggling with jerky movements, no doubt already damaged due to the attack. Naruto calmly pulled out his pistol and shot it three times. Once it stopped moving Naruto stopped the technique, allowing it to limply fall.

Naruto then quickly had to dodge as several sniper rounds passed right through where he had been standing. Kurotsuchi managed to down another one of the weird spider-like geth before three more forced her into her own cover. Naruto just watched as Shepard and Garrus faced the threat, and was quite impressed by what he saw. The two were very calm, working in tandem to take out the fast moving targets. Shepard quickly launched a biotic attack when two of the enemies were close together. The singularity managed to pull both into the air and leave them helpless for Garrus to take down. The two then worked together to keep the last one moving too much for it to take any shots of its own. After that it was only a matter of time before the two finally brought it down.

The group advanced quickly after that. They ran into a few more geth, but they quickly managed to take down the smaller groups. It only took them five minutes to reachthe colony. There were several metal barricades which concealed several lightly armed humans.

As the group approached, one of the humans said in relief, "Thank god, reinforcements. You should talk to Fai Dan. He's our leader."

Shepard nodded and led their group a bit further in. She then turned and ordered, "Take a quick breather for now while I talk to this Fai Dan."

When she turned to leave though, Naruto grabbed her wrist with a firm grip. She tuned and gave him a questioning look. Naruto quickly looked to confirm that none of the colonists were within hearing range. Naruto quickly told Shepard in a serious tone, "Shepard…something is wrong with these people."

Shepard raised an eyebrow before questioning in an equally serious voice, "What do you mean? Are they sick or something?"

"Something is wrong with their minds. It is difficult to explain. Their minds are…conditioned or something. They all have similar brainwaves. They even seem to be…connected to each other. There is also a connection with something else," Naruto informed her awkwardly.

Shepard's eyebrows furrowed before she asked, "Can you be any more specific?"

Naruto shook his head before admitting, "No. At least not unless you want me to forcibly mind rape one of them. I just wanted you to know. They don't have any intention of hurting us right now, but I just wanted you to be careful. Something is wrong with these colonists."

Shepard nodded before responding, "Alright, thanks. Everyone be on the lookout for any suspicious behavior." She then turned and left. The group quickly split up to do their own things.

Naruto quickly moved into an open space away from any of the colonists. He then took a few breaths and stilled for several moments before letting out a sigh. He had been expecting this, but it was still a disappointment. There wasn't any nature chakra here. He had suspected that no other planet would have nature chakra after learning more about it, but that didn't stop him from hoping. He certainly didn't need sage mode for fighting anymore since he had access to all of the Juubi's chakra, but it still made him uncomfortable to not have it around him. Naruto was a sage. It felt like a piece of him was missing when he couldn't feel nature chakra around him. Like a limb was missing all of a sudden.

Naruto took the next few minutes to relax himself. It was over far too quickly when Shepard waved him over to where the group was gathered. When everyone was there, Shepard explained, "I talked to Fai Dan. He told me that the geth attacked the ExoGeni headquarters first. We'll probably receive answers there. First we'll help the colonists though. The colonists need food, water, and power. The geth also seem to have a transmitter that they are using to coordinate, and likely jam all other communication. So we'll go into the tunnels downstairs."

"Commander, is this really necessary? Shouldn't we focus on why the geth are here?" Garrus quickly questioned.

Tali immediately protested, "Of course we should help them! They are in dire need of aid!"

"I understand what you mean Garrus, but we can't leave these people like this. The geth are continuing to attack, so they must want these colonists gone for some reason. I'm not planning on letting them succeed," Shepard declared seriously to Garrus. Garrus reluctantly nodded in acceptance. Shepard then finished, "So let's head out."

The group quickly walked to the other side of Zhu's Hope. They walked past the several manned barriers and entered a tunnel. The group advanced till they found a staircase. They proceeded downwards, but were interrupted when a geth came around a corner. Most of the group dived into cover, but Naruto just let out a burst of gunfire from his assault rifle. The bullets managed to take down its shields, but it then overheated and stopped firing. The geth was about to fire, but Naruto was faster. Holding his assault rifle in his left hand, Naruto used his right to draw his pistol. The first shot destroyed its flashlight head, but Naruto let out two more shots that connected with its torso. The geth dropped.

Only for a few of its buddies to come around the corner. That was enough for Naruto to move into cover himself. A firefight followed between the two groups, with the geth definitely getting the worst of it. There wasn't any cover near them, and Naruto's group wasn't in any mood to allow them to find any. The geth were soon turned into scrap metal by the group.

Shepard moved cautiously as she peeked around the corner before she signaled that it was clear. The group moved quickly. At the bottom of the stairs they found a door that lead to a very long tunnel. Running along one side of the tunnel was a metal pipe.

Tali quickly stated, "I think this is a water pipe."

"I think so too. Here's a water valve maintenance station. Let's see if I can reactivate it," Shepard stated as she started messing with a small screen on the pipe. After tapping buttons for several moments, the group heard a sliding sound. Shepard growled in annoyance before explaining to the group, "I managed to reopen this valve, but it says that two more valves have been closed by the geth. We'll have to open them for the colony to have water."

The group advanced again, but soon found an intersection blocked off by geth. Luckily there were only three of them. Garrus sniped one before the geth even realized they were there. Shepard and Kaidan both let off biotic attacks which seemed to explode once they touched their targets, taking out the other two.

The group moved to the intersection. Shepard looked around for a moment before sighing and saying, "It looks like it is time to split up. My team will continue following the water pipe. Garrus, your team will go to the right. Based on these skyscrapers, I doubt either will lead that far. Once you hit a dead end, rally back here."

"Got it, commander," Garrus spoke seriously. Shepard nodded and led Kurotsuchi and Tali away. Garrus then turned to Kaidan and Naruto and ordered, "Naruto, you'll be in front. Kaidan and I will be following. Let's go."

The three got into position and walked up to the door. Naruto opened it, but two shots immediately rang through the air. Naruto cussed as he clutched a wound in his right shoulder. Two geth snipers were on an upper balcony, just waiting for someone to open it. He quickly moved into cover before they could fire again. Naruto quickly checked the wound. It wasn't bad. It seemed that his shields had stopped one and slowed the other. His armor then seemed to have absorbed some of the impact. It was more a scratch by Naruto's standards, but that did not mean he didn't want to rip those two geth apart with his hands though.

Naruto looked over to see that Garrus and Kaidan weren't able to get any shots off. Garrus because one of the snipers was preventing him from aiming. Kaidan because he only had a pistol, and the enemies were too far away. They really had them trapped.

Naruto quickly yelled to Garrus, "Be ready, Garrus. I'm about to distract them." Garrus nodded. Naruto sighed and popped up from his cover and started peppering the two snipers with gunfire. From this distance their shields were holding up. Naruto didn't mind though, instead carefully watching their weapons. When the weapons were almost aimed at him, Naruto ducked down in time to avoid the two shots. He might not be fast enough to dodge bullets, but he sure as hell was fast enough to avoid letting two hunks of metal draw a bead on him. Garrus managed to use the small window of opportunity to fire off a shot on one of the snipers. Unfortunately, its shields held. Fortunately, it ducked down afterwards, leaving its partner alone.

Naruto popped up again and fired at the remaining sniper. It ducked down as well once its shields were depleted. Naruot was wondering about using a shunshin to get close enough to finish them off, but Kaidan acted before he had decided. Kaidan pulled out a grenade and threw it towards where the two geth were hiding. His aim was true and the grenade managed to land on the balcony just before exploding. The three watched carefully for thirty seconds in case one of the geth popped up, but they soon concluded that the two were destroyed.

Naruto quickly commented, "Nice throw, Kaidan."

"Thanks, but let me put some medigel on that wound. I've got some," Kaidan said as he approached Naruto.

"No need. Look," Naruto claimed with a chuckle. He stretched the hole in his armor to show just flawless skin underneath. Naruto quickly explained, "A scratch like that won't bother me."

Garrus nodded before saying, "All right, but we should be more careful from now on. That might have very well hit you in the head. So open the door from the side from now on."

Naruto nodded in acceptance of the order. The group set off again. They walked down several empty hallways. After a minute of encountering no enemies, Naruto peeked around a corner to see a krogan facing the other way. Naruto backed away from the corner slowly before turning back to Garrus and Kaidan.

"A krogan. Facing the other way. Doesn't know we are here," Naruto told them in a whisper.

Garrus nodded and thought for a few moments before ordering, "Okay. We'll take it down before it even knows what is happening. Kaidan, use overload to take down its shields. Naruto and I will then riddle him full of bullets." The two nodded.

The three carefully rounded the corner to see the krogan still facing the other way. Garrus nodded at Kaidan, who started messing with his Omni-tool. Sparks flew off the krogan's armor, causing it to grunt and turn around. Too bad it just turned to face Naruto and Garrus holding assault rifles. They both opened fire right into the krogan's face. With no shields it immediately fell. Garrus continued firing for a few moments even when it was on the floor to make sure it was dead and not just regenerating. A large pool of blood quickly spread from the body.

"Got it," He deadpanned.

Naruto tilted his head when he heard something. Naruto cursed before declaring, "We got incoming, Garrus."

Garrus looked up just in time to see two more krogan enter the room. The two krogan roared before charging. Garrus quickly ordered, "Back in the corridor!"

Naruto grimaced at that, sort of wanting to fight another krogan up close, but followed the order. The three moved to the opposite end of the corridor. Kaidan and Garrus used the edges of the corridor as cover while Naruto just crouched down in the middle.

"Kaidan, use lift on the first krogan to enter the corridor. Naruto, let's take the other one out," Garrus spoke calmly as he switched his assault rifle for his sniper rifle.

As soon as the two krogan rounded the corner Kaidan threw a biotic attack which quickly lifted one krogan into the air, where it actually started cussing as it floated. Naruto and Garrus started firing at the other one. Its shields held up under the first shot of Garrus' sniper rifle and Naruto's assault rifle. Garrus' second shot though pierced through and hit the Krogan in a knee, causing it to stumble. Naruto took the opportunity to target its exposed face. He kept firing until his assault rifle overheated.

"Guys, help would be appreciated," Kaidan said as his attack ended. The other krogan dropped back to the ground. It quickly stood up, completely ignoring Kaidan firing with his pistol at it. Before it could try charging again, Naruto moved in front of it with a burst of speed. It tried to lift up its shotgun, but Naruto was faster. One swing of Kiba sliced off the arm holding the shotgun while the other came in and bisected the krogan. The two halves of the krogan fell to the ground. Kaidan quickly added, "Thanks."

Naruto shrugged and responded, "No problem." Naruto then stabbed Kiba through the head of the bisected krogan, which was still actually moving. He then did the same to the other krogan, which had been twitching. Naruto swung the swords to get off some of the excess blood before placing them back on his back.

Garrus looked at the krogan he had cut in half before commenting, "Cutting a krogan in two. I take back my earlier feelings about those swords."

Naruto smirked as he exclaimed, "I told you. Swords are awesome. Me wielding swords is double awesome."

"You have a high opinion of yourself, don't you?" Kaidan asked in an amused voice.

"Of course, but it's part of my charm," Naruto claimed with a carefree grin.

"Let's get back on topic. Usually krogan are alone leading teams of geth. The fact that three were here indicates they were guarding something of value. Let's see what it is," Garrus informed them. They nodded and quickly crossed the room where they had encountered the first krogan. They turned a corner and saw a machine there. Garrus approached it and started tapping a screen. He soon explained, "Looks like this is the geth communicator/jammer. I'll shut it off, but we should make sure they don't simply restart it. Hold on a moment…There! It's off. Naruto, think you can cut this thing up a little?"

Naruto just grinned and cracked his knuckles before replying, "Of course. Who do you think you are talking to?"

Garrus immediately replied wittily, "A blonde with very high opinion of himself."

Naruto just shrugged as he approached the machine. "I told you. It's part of my charm. Plus, I never make claims without proper reason. Make no mistake. I know my limits. It just so happens that I don't have too many." Naruto drew and slashed with one of the Kiba blades, slicing though the metal like butter. The blade was too short to cut all the way through, but it was more than enough to make sure that the machine was inoperable.

The group then backtracked to the intersection where they had split from the others. Shepard hadn't come back yet, so they were just waiting. Naturally, Naruto got bored. He soon wandered down the left corridor which ended in a weird tilted wall. Naruto looked closer, but the wall then shot upwards showing that it was a door. Naruto blinked before turning and walking back to the other two.

"Hey, Garrus, Kaidan. There's a door down this way. Let's check it out," Naruto exclaimed excitedly.

Kaidan immediately replied, "We really shouldn't, Naruto. The commander told us to wait here."

Garrus looked hesitant before finally saying, "We'll check it out. It doesn't look like Shepard is going to be back soon. Might as well make sure there isn't anything that way." Kaidan looked like he disagreed, but reluctantly assented.

The group walked through the door. They looked around to see that this was a very large room, filled with quite a bit of rubble. Kaidan soon spoke up though, "Varren, four o'clock."

Naruto and Garrus turned to see a pack of varren running towards them. The three immediately opened fire. Garrus shot one through the eye with his sniper rifle with another one soon following it. Kaidan used lift on one and then finished it off with his pistol. Naruto used his assault rifle to take down two, but soon saw that several would get in close with the group. Naruto quickly put away his assault rifle to draw Kiba. Naruto jumped towards the varren and started swinging. The blades cut through them like butter, bisected and eviscerated varren falling around the shinobi. Garrus and Kaidan expertly managed to shoot several of the varren while avoiding Naruto.

Naruto soon paused as he thought that he had finished them all. He was proven wrong when he had to jump backwards to dodge. Naruto looked to see that the last remaining varren had a red tint as well as being larger than the others. Naruto also saw several bleeding wounds from Kaidan and Garrus. Naruto was rather surprised it was still going.

Naruto was cut off when it lunged for his neck. Naruto easily dodged. Instead of using Kiba to slash it in half though, Naruto decided to just kick it. Naruto's kick slammed into its underbelly with sickening force. The varren flew through the air before slamming into one of the walls, a crack from the collision indicating that its back was broken. With the varren dead, Naruto put away Kiba. The three then split up to look around the large area.

Garrus crouched over the lead varren before commenting, "I think this is the varren that was preventing the colonists from hunting. They should be fine for food now."

Kaidan nodded as he examined an old Mako. He then questioned, "Hey, Garrus. Think the power cell in this thing could be used to power the colony?"

"Maybe. Let me look," Garrus stated as he moved over. He quickly opened up the engine and started rifling through it.

Naruto was ignoring this though in favor of looking through some of the ruins. He could have sworn he heard something over here. Naruto's head whipped over as he heard another whimper. Moving closer, Naruto moved a piece of debris to see a nest of some sort. Inside the nest was something that resembled a puppy. Sort of. Similar in size to a newborn puppy, it instead was covered in very tiny scales. The top of it was black while the underbelly was red. It had little fangs sticking out from its jaws. It had round silver eyes without pupils too. It was a baby varren.

The little thing seemed incapable of walking yet, as it was sort of wiggling on the ground. It was also letting out occasional whimpers. Naruto grimaced and looked over at all the varren corpses. Great, he had probably just killed its parents. He couldn't just leave it here to starve. Naruto bent down and picked the pup up, with the tiny thing easily fitting in the palm of his hand.

Its undeveloped mind was soon projected to Naruto. Thankfully it wasn't hungry or anything right now. It had been whimpering due to the lack of any warmth nearby. As soon as Naruto picked it up, it curled up content against his warm hand. The cute scene solidified Naruto's decision to take in the little thing.

Naruto soon walked over to Kaidan and Garrus before saying in an eager voice, "Look what I found."

The two saw the currently sleeping varren baby in Naruto's hand. Kaidan quickly said, "A baby varren. That is bad luck. It'd better to put it out of its misery now."

Naruto immediately protested, "No way. I'm going to take it with us."

"What!? Garrus immediately exclaimed in shock.

Naruto ignored his shout in favor of nodding with a satisfied look on his face. He quickly claimed, "I'm going to take it with us. I'm going to raise it, and I shall call it Pip."

Garrus was speechless, while Kaidan could only raise an eyebrow and question, "Pip?"

Naruto shrugged before admitting, "I don't know. The first name that popped into my head was Pippin, but that's a lame name. So Pip will have to do."

Garrus was palming his face in exasperation, but finally responded, "Whatever. I don't care. Just hold this power cell." He then shoved a glowing blue rod into Naruto's hand that wasn't holding the newly named Pip. Naruto just shrugged and sealed it away.

The group quickly moved out of the room to see that Shepard's group had made it back to the intersection. Shepard raised an eyebrow when she saw the group.

"What were you guys doing in that room?" she questioned.

Garrus quickly explained, "We arrived back before you guys and there was no sign of you returning yet, so we decided to check it out."

Shepard had a slightly disapproving look on her face, but ignored it in favor of ordering, "Report!"

Garrus straightened as he answered seriously, "The first tunnel soon brought us to the geth communicator/jammer. We shut it off before returning. The room we just returned from though was infested by a pack of varren. We eliminated them. The alpha was probably the one preventing the colonists from hunting. So they should be free now. We also managed to extract a power cell from an old Mako which should hopefully be able to power the colony."

Shepard nodded and looked at Naruto and Kaidan before asking, "Anything to add?"

Kaidan shook his head, but Naruto eagerly held out his hand and announced, "I found a pet."

Shepard blinked several times in shock before she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation. She finally looked at Naruto and replied, "I don't even want to know what is going on in your head to take a varren for a pet, but I don't care. We seem to have completed all our objectives down here. My team managed to restart the water."

Naruto quickly declared, "Hah. We got three of the objectives while you guys only got one. We totally won."

Shepard did her best to ignore Naruto as she continued, "We also found a colonist. He seemed…insane. He sounded like he wanted to tell us something about the other colonists, but he then would scream in pain. Clearly something is wrong with them."

"Told you," Naruto added smugly.

Shepard continued, still ignoring Naruto, "We'll investigate after we drive off the geth. Now that we have finished helping the colonists, we will head to the ExoGeni headquarters."

Shepard started leading the group back. They made it back to the colony quickly, since they had already defeated all the geth in the area. Shepard turned back to them once they reentered the colony.

"Alright. I'll go talk to the people to tell them that we've fixed their problems. Naruto, give me the power cell. Now take a ten minute break. We'll be heading to the ExoGeni headquarters immediately afterwards," Shepard told the group before walking away.

Naruto took this opportunity to run back to the Normandy. He luckily didn't run into any geth. Joker let him in, but Naruto then sprinted past the confused Joker. Naruto moved down to the cargo hold. Scanning the area for a moment, Naruto soon moved towards Samui.

"Hey, Samui," Naruto exclaimed immediately.

Samui jumped in surprise before turning around to see Naruto. She then asked, "Naruto! What are you doing he-"

Naruto cut her off by placing Pip in her hand and explaining furiously, "No time to explain. I found Pip here, but I can't take him with me to the ExoGeni headquarters. So can you take care of him? Thanks." Naruto then turned and sprinted away.

Samui blinked in confusion before looking at the tiny varren in her hand which was looking back at her, seemingly confused as well. She finally muttered, "So not cool, Naruto. So not cool. What is this thing?" Pip didn't answer her.

Naruto meanwhile was already halfway back to Zhu's Hope. He made it back in record time to see the group gathering. Naruto quickly joined them.

Shepard nodded at Naruto when he joined. She then questioned, "Is everyone ready?" Everyone nodded.

"Then let's go."

Omake: Naruto drunk? That is just asking for trouble!…part 2

"Kurotsuchi! Kurotsuchi, where are you?" Naruto yelled as he walked throughout the ship. He was currently on the command deck.

His calling was stopped when Samui and Mabui walked onto the command deck. Mabui immediately raised an eyebrow before questioning, "Naruto, what is going on? Why are you yelling?"

Naruto grinned happily at the sight of the two. He actually skipped over to the two before he questioned, "Hey, Mabi, Samui. You two wouldn't happen to know where Kurotsuchi is, would you?"

Mabui and Samui looked at each other before Mabui claimed, "Sorry, but no. We were talking to Doctor Chakwas when we heard your yelling."

Naruto shoulders slumped in disappointment, but he quickly perked up as he exclaimed, "Oh well, I'll find her in a bit. I could actually use your help with something as well, Samui, Mabui."

"Okay, what is it?" Samui asked calmly.

"Can you give me your underwear?" Naruto asked with his hand out expectantly.

Samui and Mabui blinked in shock for a moment before the two looked at each other. Samui shrugged before admitting, "I guess that would be cool. I don't really mind, but considering the circumstances between Naruto and I…What do you think?"

"Considering Naruto is drunk right now, it is probably better to just do whatever he asks," Mabui commented after a moment of thought.

Both finally shrugged in unison before he reached behind their own backs. After a few seconds of maneuvering the two managed to pull out their bras from inside their shirts. They then held them out for Naruto.

"Great, thanks. For being so cooperative, you both can keep your panties…For now at least. I might come for them another time," Naruto told the two eagerly as he grabbed the two very large bras, but he then tilted his head as he remembered something they said. Mabui commented they should do whatever he asks. Grinning mischievously, Naruto pointed at the two and ordered, "Jump."

The two very well endowed, and now braless, kunoichi followed the order without hesitation. Naruto's eyes followed the jiggling of their breasts intently, his Sharingan activating to permanently etch this memory in his mind. They even kept jumping, prolonging the bouncing goodness. Naruto grinned perversely as he watched.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. On their sixth jump, a kick collided with Naruto head as a voice shouted, "What the Hell! Stop that!"

Naruto flew over before his head collided with a steel wall. He stayed still for several moments before he straightened. He turned to see that Kurotsuchi was the perpetrator. Instead of acting angry at being kicked, Naruto just chuckled perversely as he stated, "Hehe, I've found you, Kuro-chan."

Kurotsuchi's instincts screamed to her to run before something terrible happened to her. Her pride though kept her rooted to the spot as she stared angrily at Naruto. As she stared at the drunk Naruto though she could also see a shadow of Jiraiya of the Sannin grinning perversely forming behind Naruto. As Naruto gained the same perverse grin on his face, Kurotsuchi knew she should have run.

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

**I somehow ended up writing about weapons and armor. I really didn't plan that, but it did provide some information on the two for those of you that haven't played the first Mass Effect. And poor Samui is too busty for armor. Too bad for her.**

**The talk with Ashley was actually really difficult to write. I actually cut off halfway and left it for later. In the first game Ashley isn't xenophobic, but she is rather distrustful of the alien crew members. So i hope i correctly captured her opinion without making her seem like a bitch. I also am trying to avoid making Naruto too preachy after a few readers pointed it out, so i cut his reaction to her words short compared to what i originally wrote.**

**The scene with Shepard and Doctor Chakwas was expanded quite a as i wrote it. I originally just wanted to do a quick briefing of the differences between the shinobi and humans, but it ended up being expanded quite a bit. I simply wanted to make it clear that the shinobi aren't humans who the Protheans relocated. That idea is too used. So they are a different species, but the Protheans are involved which i alluded to already in the chapter. Otherwise i wanted to emphasize that the shinobi seem to be 'perfect' warriors. I know none of this stuff is canon, but i needed to make some differences between them and humans. I also know i stretched and blatantly ignored some scientific things, but i'm the author. Hopefully my explanation satisfied you, but i am not going to get a degree in human biology just to be scientifically correct in this story.**

**Naruto talked to Garrus a bit, and also shows he has Samehada and Kiba. Otherwise the rest of this chapter mainly had to do with the Feros mission. I put quite a bit of action into this, enough that basically half the chapter is fighting. Tell me what you think of both how i wrote the fight scenes and if i should do more or less. If you want more, you're out of luck. I found it easy to wrtite the fight scenes, but incredibly boring as well. No more specific action than shown here, and i might tone it down a bit. **

**I also have news about Tali. I am considering removing her from the harem, at least till the second game. I am just not coming up with many ways Naruto can romance her right now. I am also thinking of focusing on Shepard and Liara for Mass Effect characters. That will sort of be a three way relationship, and it will simplify things for me. Ashley is basically out of the running since even i can't picture her as participating in a relationship with Naruto when he is involved with other women. I might have some funny sexual tension moments, but she's basically out. So tell me what you guys think of removing Tali. **

**Next chapter: The Thorian.**


	5. The Thorian

_This Chapter was corrected by my beta, Vandenbz. So thank him for the easier read._

**Here is the next chapter of Shinobi, Aliens, and a Blonde Maelstrom. **

**This was actually a really boring chapter to write. I thought the end of the Feros arc would only take half the chapter, but it took over 10,000 words. Much of this is almost verbatim from the game, with only a few differences. So it was annoying to write.**

**The poll I put up about Tali is also closing. I was shocked by the landslide decision for Tali to stay in the harem for the timeline of Mass Effect 1. Like 90% voted to keep her in. It isn't certain since it is still my decision, but I'll at least try to get them to grow closer. I'll only delay it if I don't like how their relationship is developing.**

The two teams formed up as they walked past the barricades for Zhu's Hope. Naruto and Kurotsuchi once again took the lead. They kept ready for any geth to arrive, but it seemed unnecessary. They passed through the small area before the elevator easily. Piling in, they waited as the elevator rose.

Shepard took this time to inform them, "For any of you that don't know, the ExoGeni headquarters is in another building. We'll be getting there by crossing the skyway, a connecting bridge between the skyscrapers. We'll be exposed on it though, so be prepared for the geth to try and stop us. They'll probably be bringing in the big guns."

The group nodded in understanding, and readied their guns as the elevator slowed to a stop. As the doors opened, they were welcomed with the sound of gunfire. Not seeing any enemies yet, they moved forward cautiously. They turned a corner to find another barricade with colonists hiding behind it as several geth advanced. The group quickly moved behind the barricade as well to assist. After that it was quick and easy. Six geth troopers might be capable of overwhelming three untrained colonists equipped with pistols, but they fell very short of being able to take out their group.

"Thanks. We appreciate the assist," one of the colonists muttered in relief while breathing deeply.

"No problem. We'll try to clear out any of the geth along the way to the ExoGeni headquarters though," Shepard told the colonists. She then signaled to the group to advance. They didn't have to go far. The barricade had been positioned right over the skyway entrance with a Mako sitting right before the closed entrance. Shepard ordered them, "Alright, everyone pile in. Kaidan, you drive. Garrus, take the cannon. I'll handle the turret."

As the back of the Mako opened and the rest piled in, Naruto and Kurotsuchi looked at each other before Naruto informed Shepard, "Hey, Shepard. Kurotsuchi and I will just run along. Since you three got the Mako handled, we'd just be sitting there. We'll provide some support from outside."

Shepard gave them a skeptical look, but no doubt remembered their abilities. So she just nodded with a sigh before reminding them as she walked into the Mako, "Okay, but be careful. As I said before, the geth will be hitting us with the big guns here. The stuff big enough to try and take the Mako down. Your personal shields won't much help you with those if you get hit." Naruto and Kurotsuchi nodded in understanding at the words.

The garage door opened a second later, but the group was surprised to see the enemy right there. A large four legged geth tank was there, a geth armature, and two rocket troopers were flanking it. The three geth managed to react quicker, and all three fired their weapons at the Mako. The pulse cannon hit first, and then the two rockets connected with the Mako's front.

Naruto skidded away as he was buffeted by the resulting explosion. His hands had already run through a sequence of hand seals by the time he stopped. He raised his hand to his mouth with his thumb and index finger forming a ring. He took a breath and uttered, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu." He then launched a large fireball at the armature. It connected and caused a small explosion, but the smoke quickly cleared to show that it only caused its plating to blacken and singe slightly. Naruto grimaced at that. He should have expected that a C-rank jutsu wouldn't be able to take out something like that. Seems Shepard was right about the big guns being brought out.

Naruto wasn't the only one to have acted though. The Mako's cannon connected with the armature right after the smoke from Naruto's attack cleared. Unfortunately the thing's shields held. Shepard focused the turret on the rocket troopers. She took out the one on the left easily, and Kurotsuchi used her assault rifle to take out the other one.

The armature's cannon seemed to have recovered though, if the brightening lights seemed to be an indicator. Before it could fire though, the Mako lurched forward and collided with the armature. The armature's aim faltered and the cannon shot hit the ground twenty yards behind them. The Mako reversed away, and the cannon then hit the armature. This time its shields didn't hold, and the cannon took out a chunk of its body. The thing was still moving, but some fire from the turret soon stopped it.

The group took several moments to recover from the short but intense conflict before they started moving out. Now that they weren't trapped in small corridors, Naruto and Kurotsuchi were capable of properly showing off their speed. The two easily kept up with the Mako, running in a smooth fashion with their arms flowing behind them. So the group's progress across the skyway went quickly.

Not to say they didn't have a few challenges. Several geth rocket troopers were on the skyway, doing their best to pelt the Mako with rockets. The group quickly figured out a good strategy against these. Garrus didn't even bother targeting them with the cannon, leaving it to Shepard with the turret to fire at them from a distance. Once they got closer though it was left to Naruto and Kurotsuchi. It was easy for the two to dodge any rockets sent their way as they closed with the geth. Once close the two didn't even need to stop. Naruto simply used one of Kiba to slice them in half while Kurotsuchi would use her shotgun to destroy them from up close. It was an efficient system which kept them moving steadily for several minutes.

The first real obstacle they had was when they spotted three armatures in the distance. Two were together, with another a small distance behind them. The group moved with a certainty of knowing exactly what the others planned. Naruto and Kurotsuchi sped up and approached the two armatures in front while the Mako targeted the one further back.

It was pathetically easy for Naruto and Kurotsuchi to close with the armatures. Their cannons were focused on hitting the Mako, and they didn't even seem to consider the two humans, to their knowledge, as a threat. Naruto quickly moved to prove them wrong. Naruto jumped up in front of one of the armature's 'heads.' He then sliced with one of the Kiba. It took a second for its head to fall off. Not sure if it could still fire its cannon, Naruto created two clones. Naruto himself reached up and gripped the armature's 'neck' with chakra while the clones did the same to its front legs. The three then acted in perfect sync and with three simultaneous grunts threw the damaged armature into the air. The thing flew over the side of the skyway and disappeared on its long fall to the ground.

Kurotsuchi meanwhile ran through hand seals as she approached her own armature. She then leaped up as she cried out, "Yoton: Sekkaigyo no Jutsu." She then released a stream of boiling hot quicklime towards the armature. The thing screeched as the boiling liquid connected. It took two seconds before the thing blew up. Seemed that while they could handle a fireball, the hot quicklime was capable of seeping past its armor and melting its inner circuitry.

The Mako had already managed its own. Kaiden had managed to deftly dodge all the cannon shots except one by switching between reverse and drive. Shepard and Garrus had then concentrated their fire on the furthest armature. By the time Naruto and Kurotsuchi finished their own, a cannon shot destroyed most of its body while the turret took off most of its head. It sank to the ground before blowing up.

The group then advanced again while only having to deal with several groups of rocket troopers and a single armature. Just as the group was approaching the headquarters though, a geth dropship appeared. It stopped briefly before the building and dropped two more armatures before leaving.

Naruto and Kurotsuchi moved together to take out the one on the right, leaving the left to the Mako. The two ran through hand seals. Kurotsuchi jumped into the air again as she uttered, "Suiton: Mizurappa." She then released a jet of water. Naruto then extended his hands and announced, "Raiton: Kangekiha." Lightning extended from his hands and connected with the water technique, electrifying it. The collaboration technique connected with the armature, immediately causing it to short circuit from the electricity.

The two then looked to see the Mako was finishing the other. The group then quickly entered the building. This building seemed to be even worse than the one they had been in before. The entire track was covered with piles of debris, making the Mako proceed carefully in order to not get trapped. After a few minutes of slow progress though the Mako stopped once they reached an intersection. There was a large platform which likely headed to the ExoGeni headquarters and a staircase. Naruto waited as the Mako opened to let out the others.

"Hey Shepard, why did we stop?" Naruto questioned quickly.

"Sorry, I forgot you guys didn't hear. We really need to get you some radio headsets," Shepard stated sheepishly before she continued, "As we were advancing across the skyway we picked up several radio transmissions. Seems there is another group of survivors. Tali managed to trace it back to this area."

Naruto nodded and asked simply, "Down the stairs?"

"That is what we suspect," Shepard answered before the group started to move down the stairs.

As they walked though Tali stepped by Naruto and Kurotsuchi and exclaimed, "Keelah, you two were amazing. You managed to take down just as many armatures as us."

Kurotsuchi shrugged as she replied nonchalantly, "It is no big deal. We are basically the strongest shinobi you can find."

"Still, hearing about your abilities and seeing them are completely different. Breathing fire, water, using electricity, and was that quicklime? It really is amazing, even for those of us with technology," Tali gushed. She then looked between the two before commenting, "Your teamwork was also really good. I didn't see any hand signs or other method of communication. To be able to work together in such sync without communicating must mean you two really know and understand each other huh?"

Kurotsuchi sputtered before replying indignantly, "As if! Who would bother to understand him!?"

Naruto immediately whined in a teasing voice, "Aw, that's mean, Kurotsuchi. You know you love me."

Kurotsuchi sputtered again as her face reddened, while Tali laughed at the byplay. By this time though the staircase had ended in a ramp. They moved down it and found themselves facing more barricades with several uniformed guards pointing guns at them. Luckily they were waved through.

As they approached the two people waiting for them, one of them stated, "That's close enough!" He was a somewhat tanned man with his hair cut short. Naruto could practically feel the sliminess of his thoughts without even trying.

"Relax, Jeong. They're obviously not geth," the other quickly scolded with a hint of derision. It was a woman who was approaching her advanced years and had her brown hair cut short like a male's.

The other man didn't seem to care for her words, as he reprimanded, "Get back, Juliana." He then faced the group and questioned, "Who are you? What do you want?"

"I'm Commander Shepard. I'm here to remove your geth problem," Shepard answered.

"You see, you worry too much," Juliana told Jeong.

"And you trust too easily, Juliana," Jeong responded.

"I'm just glad to see a friendly face. I thought we were the only humans left on this planet," Juliana state, now facing the group.

Shepard quickly informed the group, "Fai Dan and some of the members of Zhu's Hope are still alive."

Juliana turned towards Jeong at that and questioned harshly, "I thought you said they were all dead?"

"I said they were 'probably' all dead," Jeong replied with a hint of anxiety in his voice.

Tali interjected herself into the conversation now by announcing, "They are somehow managing to survive, despite all that the geth have done to them."

"We know what that is like. Those damn synthetics are relentless," Juliana replied with sympathy.

Shepard decided to retake control of the conversation now and claimed, "We'll do our best to help you, but first I need some information."

"What kind of information?" Jeong asked suspiciously.

"Ignore him," Juliana said immediately. Clearly she and Jeong didn't quite get along. She then turned to Shepard and told her, "The geth are at ExoGeni headquarters, just a bit up from here."

Jeong chimed in then, "Those headquarters are private property, soldier. Remove the geth and nothing else."

"I'm here for the geth. I couldn't care less about your company secrets," Shepard replied, her patience seemingly fading to be replaced by annoyance.

"Commander, before you go…My daughter, Lizbeth, she's missing," Juliana told the group, a bit of despair seeping into her voice.

"They shouldn't waste time poking around. We can do a proper account of our casualties after the geth are gone," Jeong stated without any care. Okay, this guy is officially a douche, Naruto decided. Even if the thoughts and feelings Naruto had been focused on hadn't already proven that.

Juliana seemed to agree as she exclaimed furiously, "That's my daughter you're talking about! She's still alive. I know it."

Shepard sighed in a bit of frustration before questioning, "Where do you think your daughter would be, Juliana?"

"She was working in the ExoGeni building when the attack came," Juliana informed them.

Jeong quickly stated sarcastically, "Oh yeah, there are several places she could hide…For a short time."

"If she's in there, I'll do my best to find her," Shepard told Juliana.

"Thank you, commander. That is all I can ask," Juliana stated gratefully.

Shepard nodded and then asked, "Do you have any idea what the geth are after? Why they came here?"

"I have no idea. We certainly haven't found anything of use. Something ExoGeni is keen to remind us of," Juliana claimed while ending her statement with a glare towards Jeong.

"We need to recoup our expenses. It's nothing personal," Jeong stated coldly.

"We need to head out soon. Zhu's Hope is currently safe and has provisions. It might be a smart idea to move there before the geth fill the skyway again," Shepard suggested to the group.

"No!" Jeong exclaimed in a panic. He managed to recover though when everyone looked at him. He then explained, "We are already safe here, and the geth might attack when we cross the skyway. It will be smarter to wait for the geth to retreat."

"But we are almost out of supplies," Juliana protested.

"Since help has arrived the geth will soon be gone. We'll stay here," Jeong announced firmly at the end.

Shepard shrugged and ordered, "If that is what you wish. Stay here until I return. We'll help you then." She then turned and led the group back up the ramp. As they walked up she turned to Naruto and questioned, "Well? What did you find out?"

Naruto chuckled. Shepard may not be the sharpest person, but she sure as hell knew her team and how to use it. She had known he was scanning those two telepathically to gather information. Likely even stretched the conversation out to help him.

"It's rare I find a person as slimy and dishonest as Jeong, but Juliana is clean," Naruto told her. He then grew serious as he continued, "Jeong definitely knows more thanhe'sletting on. One thing I picked up is that he is literally terrified of going to Zhu's Hope. Something about a 'Thorian' and the colonists being controlled."

"So you were right about the colonists," Shepard commented.

"Seems so, not that I had any doubt. Seems this Thorian is responsible. He also thought of the Thorian when you asked about why the geth might be here," Naruto explained.

Shepard nodded as she announced thoughtfully, "That makes sense. Saren would no doubt be interested in this 'Thorian' if it is capable of controlling people. For now though we need to clear out the ExoGeni headquarters. We might be able to find out more there."

The group nodded and they moved into the Mako while Naruto and Kurotsuchi stayed out again. They moved up the ramp and soon found themselves at the ExoGeni headquarters. The group left the Mako and walked into the large entrance hall. They didn't get much time to look around before a large group of geth arrived.

This time it was a difficult fight. The geth group consisted of three hoppers and a mix of various troopers: two rockets, three shock, and six regular. The hoppers were jumping around, using their mobility to set up good shots with their sniping weapons. The troopers were making sure to suppress them to make sure they couldn't take down the hoppers, and the rocket troopers were doing their best to bombard whatever cover they had. The shock troopers meanwhile moved forward to make use of their shotguns.

That was what caused the tide turned though. Naruto managed to take one of the shock troopers down with Kiba, while Kurotsuchi and Tali both managed to down one with their shotguns. With some of the pressure relieved, the counterattack started. Kaidan popped up and tossed a grenade near the geth rocket troopers, although he ended up with a bullet in the shoulder due to the regular troopers. The grenade flew true though and managed to take down both rocket troopers. Shepard then used a singularity on the largest cluster of troopers. With three now floating in the air, the other three were taken down with the floating three soon following. Now with only the hoppers left it was inevitable. Didn't stop the hoppers from making it difficult though. They were eventually brought down.

The group then took a minute to recover. Kaidan used medi-gel on his own wound before moving over and treating Garrus, who had taken a bullet to the side from one of the hoppers. Shepard looked at all of this before announcing, "We are going to stick together for now. It seems the geth are here in force. Splitting up will only make it easier for them to pick us off. Garrus, Kaidan. Both of you will stay in the back to give the medi-gel some more time to work."

When the group nodded, Shepard led them off. They passed through the entrance hall into another room. The doorway on the other side of the room was covered by a blue field of some kind. Tali approached it and announced to the group, "It's a geth energy field. They've blocked us off."

"Can you remove it?" Shepard questioned.

"No. I'm guessing that the geth ship latched onto this building is powering it. We either have to destroy the ship, get it off this building, or hack the entire geth mainframe to remove it," Tali answered regretfully.

Shepard sighed before ordering the group, "Look around for another way."

Kaiden quickly announced, "Here is a door. It's locked though. I might be able to unlock it."

"Here, let me. That is my specialty," Tali said as she approached. She quickly started to push buttons on the control box for the door. It only took her half a minute to decrypt the unlocking sequence and the door opened as she declared, "And there it is. Easy as pie."

The group moved through the door, but froze when they saw a geth armature sitting in the room. It didn't move though, and Garrus announced, "It is deactivated."

Naruto approached it before swinging Kiba, slicing off its head before putting two deep slashes into its body. He then put away Kiba with a sense of satisfaction. He turned to see the group looking at him, so he shrugged and claimed, "Hey, it may not be active right now, but it could at any moment. I don't feel like allowing that to happen."

The group shrugged and turned a corner, only to find a dead-end. There was a box there though. Shrugging, Shepard opened it to reveal several items. They all turned though when they heard some sparking and grinding noises. The armature seemed to have activated, but then it collapsed due to Naruto's previous actions.

"Told ya," Naruto announced gleefully.

Shepard chuckled and took out the items from the box. Kaiden looked and explained, "Hey, these two amps are Polaris models. They are one of the best bio-amps companies. Not the newest models, but still better than what we have now. Can't put them in now, but those could really improve our biotics, Shepard."

"And this is an Armali Omni-Tool. I could use that," Tali added when she looked.

"So either we stumbled on a storage unit for whatever security forces ExoGeni had or the geth left these to bait us for that armature. Probably the second. Either way, we'll take them. We still need to find a way further into the building. Start looking," Shepard stated to the group.

A minute later Naruto peered down a trench tunnel opening. Seeing a light at the end, Naruto yelled out, "I think I found something." The group came over and looked at the opening.

"I'm not too confident about this. I don't suppose anyone found another way?" Shepard asked while looked at the group. Seeing everyone shake their heads, she sighed and continued, "Looks like we don't have a choice. Naruto, you are first. I'll go next. Kurotsuchi, you'll cover the rear."

The group set out. Naruto soon found himself in the large trench area of a skyway entrance. The entire area was covered in debris that literally blocked off the skyway. As he moved forward though, he sensed someone. He jumped back as a shot rang out. He then turned to see a young woman clutching a pistol.

"Damn it!" the girl exclaimed before actually looking at the group. She then continued in a rushed apologetic voice, "I'm sorry. I thought you were geth, or one of those varren."

Naruto waved a hand nonchalantly as he claimed, "No problem."

Shepard meanwhile approached the woman and told her, "It's okay. You're safe now, but why were you here in the first place?"

"It's my own fault. Everyone else ran, but I stayed back to back up some data. Next thing I knew the geth ship had latched onand the power went out. I was trapped. I tried to get out, but the way was blocked," the woman explained.

"We'll get you out as soon as we find out what the geth are after," Shepard replied.

"Then you need to stop the energy field. They put it up to make sure that no one would be able to gain access to the-" the woman claimed before stopping and looking hesitant about continuing.

Shepard picked this up and informed the woman, "I'm here for the geth, and so it is vital I know what they are after. If you know something, please tell me."

The woman still looked unsure, so Naruto added, "We already know about the Thorian."

The woman looked at Naruto with wide eyes as she inquired, "What? How do you know that?"

Naruto shrugged with a smirk as he retorted, "I have my ways. Just like how I know you didn't stay to back up data. You tried to send out information on the Thorian despite ExoGeni's wishes, but the geth cut off communications before you could."

She looked at Naruto with a dropped jaw, completely shocked by his knowledge. Shepard looked at Naruto with a raised eyebrow before turning to the woman and lying, "As you can see, we know a lot about what is going on. However we need to be sure we haven't missed anything. Tell us everything you know about the Thorian."

The girl looked resigned as she answered, "It's an indigenous life form. ExoGeni was studying it."

"Do you know where I can find it?" Shepard asked seriously.

"I do, but we need to focus on the geth for now. There is a databank further in the building with all the information ExoGeni has on the Thorian. If you can get past the energy field, you can access it. I'll even give you my ID card to allow you to access the information," the woman stated as she handed Shepard a card.

Shepard frowned slightly at not getting answers, but still nodded and asked, "Alright. My engineer here stated that we'll likely have to stop the ship powering the energy field to get past. Any information you have that can help us?"

"I've noticed the geth laying power cables all over the place. If you follow the power cables they'll likely lead you to the ship, but there are geth all over the place," she told them after a moment of thought.

"We'll handle that," Shepard claimed confidently. She turned to leave, but Naruto asked the woman something.

"You're Lizbeth Baynham, right?"

She looked at him in surprise, although she seemed to be getting used to him knowing things he shouldn't. She just nodded and claimed, "Yes, I am."

"Good. We met your mother. She's safe, and asked us to look for you," he informed her.

Lizbeth smiled as she answered in relief, "Really? Thank goodness. I wasn't sure if anyone had survived or not."

"No problem. Now sit tight while we handle the situation," Naruto told her with a smile that caused her to blush slightly.

The group started moving away, but halfway across the room a group of varren appeared from the debris. It was a large group, but they managed to handle them somewhat easily. Several survived long enough to get close, but they then met with Naruto's Kiba swords along with Tali and Kurotsuchi's shotguns. Once the varren were dead they moved on.

They soon found a door into the facility. They advanced cautiously, expecting geth to appear at any second. It wasn't until several minutes had passed that they heard something. They carefully moved up a crumbling staircase to see a krogan angrily talking to a VI hologram, "Damn it! Tell me what I want or I'll blast your virtual ass into actual dust."

"Please contact your supervisor for a level 4 clearance exemption or arrange a meeting with-" the VI replied blankly.

"Stupid machine!" the krogan exclaimed in irritation.

"Yeah, but it is only a VI. VI's kind of creep me out. Their blank voice and everything," a voice spoke up from beside the krogan.

"I know. Just talking to them pisses me off-" the Krogan started before realizing that he wasn't alone. He turned with a cuss to see some blonde standing beside him without a care. He pulled out his shotgun and fired into the chest of the grinning human. As soon as he did though, the human exploded in his face. The krogan was thrown backwards in a daze. As he tried to get up again though, a blade pierced through his neck.

Naruto stuck the sword in deeper before pulling it out of the still krogan. Aw, you have to love exploding clones. He then turned towards the group and announced, "See, I took care of it."

Shepard just shrugged in acceptance and approached the VI stand. It appeared and said, "Welcome back, research assistant Lizbeth Baynham. What can I do for you?"

"What data was the previous user attempting to look up?" Shepard asked.

"Fetching data. The previous user was attempting to access data on the study of Subject Species 37, the Thorian," the Vi stated.

"Tell me everything you told the krogan," Shepard ordered.

"I was unable to provide any relevant data due to the user lacking the proper clearance. There is also a lack of new data for the species. All the sensors available at Zhu's Hope have been inactive for several cycles."

"What does Zhu's Hope have to do with the Thorian?" Shepard questioned.

"Species 37 is located deep within the substructure of the Zhu's Hope outpost."

Shepard nodded in understanding while Naruto started to understand. Shepard quickly ordered, "Tell me everything ExoGeni knows about the Thorian."

"The Thorian is a simple plant life form that exhibits sentient behavior uncommon with other flora. Through dispersion and eventual inhalation of spores, it can infect and control other organisms, including humans. The Zhu's Hope control group has returned interesting results. Before sensors went offline, almost 85% of all test subjects were infected."

Shepard quickly questioned with anger rising in her voice, "Are you saying that ExoGeni knew its people were getting infected?"

"It was deemed necessary to ascertain the true potential of Species 37."

"That explains everything. The weird brainwaves of the colonists and why Jeong was afraid of going to Zhu's Hope. He didn't want to get infected," Naruto muttered with righteous anger filling him.

"Tell me everything else you know about the Thorian," Shepard demanded, seemingly just as annoyed by the new information as Naruto.

"Species 37 was discovered several weeks ago when a research team was infected while examining ruins near the Zhu's Hope outpost. The outpost was quarantined immediately and study of the infection began. Within 21 days, 53% of colonists exhibited altered behavior. 28 days, 85%. The control manifests through an intense pain when directives are ignored. The effect is so severe that subjects are soon conditioned against even minor thoughts of rebellion. Observation indicates the Thorian views its thralls in a utilitarian manner. Care is taken to avoid injuring them, much as a craftsmen takes care of his tools. As long as they are not against the creature'sobjectives, the infected are apparently allowed to live a normal life until specifically given a task. The Thorian appears to be a diffused creature. Its cognitive abilities are centered in large nerve bundles, but it receives sensory information from kilometers of meandering tendrils. We have found bundles one meter in diameter, but this is not enough to process such large amounts of sensory information. Either it processes information slowly or there is a far larger nerve bundle that we have not yet found. The Thorian does not exhibit the behavior of a predator. The release of spores is an act of survival, not aggression. It does trigger advanced behavior in the humans it has enslaved, but we are not sure whether it recognizes, or even is capable of recognizing, humans as anything but tools. It is sufficiently alien as to defy classification at this time."

With the VI done, Shepard turned and walked away. As they walked she announced, "The Thorian has to be why Saren is here. Whether because of its control capabilities or otherwise is unclear, but irrelevant for now. We'll stop the geth here before heading back to Zhu's Hope."

The group nodded in assent as they started moving. After a few corridors, Naruto held up a hand. He then shushed them and pointed around the next corridor. As they looked they saw two geth shock troopers…praying at a bright orb in a room which had two of the geth ship's claws in it. Naruto and Garrus stood side by side as they took aim with their assault rifle and sniper rifle respectively. Shepard signaled them and they shot in unison. Both the geth were taken out before they could even stand up.

The group then moved over to the glowing orb. Tali looked at it and said, "It looks like they were worshipping this."

"The geth worship the Reapers, right? So clearly it isn't outside their ability to believe in some greater being," Kaiden added with a shrug.

"We don't have time to dawdle here. Let's move on," Shepard told them after they discussed it a bit more.

They continued moving through the building. They had a brief fight with a smaller group of geth, but they quickly overcame them. They soon arrived in a large room where even more of the geth legs were.

"Same as before. We lack the ability to dislodge these," Garrus stated in irritation.

"Let's just keep moving. We just have to keep searching till we find out how to do this," Shepard told them seriously. They nodded and advanced. Naruto saw that the second leg had entered through a garage door.

They looked down from the platform they were walking on and saw another group of geth, with a destroyer among them. Unfortunately the geth had been watching for them and opened fire. The group crouched down to take cover, but they were trapped in the corridor. Knowing they had to spread out, Naruto looked at Kurotsuchi to see she was thinking the same thing. The two popped up and jumped over the edge of the platform. It was a good twenty feet down, more than any normalhuman could do without possibly hurting themselves. For them it was a small jump down. The geth were surprised enough by the move that they didn't shoot at them till the two had managed to get into cover.

With the geth attention now split, Naruto saw the rest of the group was managing to make it down the stairs towards the ground floor. Naruto popped up and started shooting at the geth, providing cover for the others. As he did this, he saw that the destroyer was approaching his and Kurotsuchi's position. When he crouched down he looked over to see Kurotsuchi switching to her shotgun. The two nodded at each other. They waited till the heavy footsteps were just feet away. Naruto popped up and fired his assault rifle right at the destroyer. He fired till the destroyer faced him and aimed its pulse shotgun at him. He then ducked before he was hit by it at close range, not sure if his shields could take it. Kurostuchi took the opportunity to pop up with her own shotgun. The first shot destroyed its shields, the second blew a chunk out of its torso and sent it to the ground, and a third made sure it was finished.

With the main threat now gone, the group quickly handled the remaining troopers. They then looked around the lab that the geth had been guarding. Tali quickly stated, "It looks like some sort of containment lab. It might be our best chance to get rid of one of these claws."

"Alright. Spread out and see if there is anything we can use. Explosives. Anything," Shepard ordered the group. After only a moment she announced to the group as she read a monitor, "It looks like that garage door is malfunctioning. Apparently it will snap shut hard enough to cut through steel within a certain pressure range. Tali, think you can calibrate this thing to within that range?"

"With one hand tied behind my back," Tali claimed confidently. She then proved it by using only one hand, and within ten seconds the group turned to see the garage door faltering. It then came down with a mighty screech. The geth ship leg held it for a moment before it was cut through. The group heard the other legs dragging as the weight they were supporting increased.

"Come on, fall you son of a bitch," Garrus muttered as they watched the ship stubbornly stay anchored. Finally with a terrible grinding the other legs started sliding back as the ship lowered. Once it lost its foothold the ship fell down off the building. Fifteen seconds later they heard an explosion and felt the building shake as the ship exploded right by its base. Good thing this place was sturdy, thought Naruto. Being in a collapsing skyscraper doesn't sound fun.

"Alright, that got the job done. Now we can go and deal with this Thorian thing," Kaidan told the group enthusiastically.

Before they could set off though they all heard Shepard's radio go off. She put it on speaker so they could hear Joker's voice as he said, "Normandy to shore party. Are you reading? Anyone there? Come on commander, talk to me."

"I'm reading you Joker. What's the situation over there?" Shepard questioned since they had been cut off from the Normandy due to the energy barrier.

"We're in lockdown here, commander. Something happened to the colonists. They're banging on the hull, trying to claw their way inside. They're freaking out!" Joker informed them.

"They can't do any real damage. Just hold on. We're on our way back," Shepard ordered calmly.

"Uh, yeah…I guess you are right. We'll just be waiting here for you," Joker replied, obviously reassured. The connection was then cut.

"Seems that the Thorian has decided our use has ended now that we've eliminated the geth. Maybe it even suspects we know about its presence. Either way, you can bet it will be having the colonists prepare for us at Zhu's Hope," Naruto declared seriously.

"Looks that way. Let's get going," Shepard replied crisply.

The group worked their way through the building while picking off any remaining geth that crossed their path. They quickly found themselves back at the entrance since the energy field wasn't blocking them anymore. They found Lizbeth waiting there. She quickly approached the group as she exclaimed, "There you are. I've been waiting. We should get out of here. I still don't think this place is safe."

"Hold on. I need some answers," Shepard claimed seriously. She then continued, "You knew more about the Thorian then you let on about."

Lizbeth hesitated, but finally spoke in an apologetic tone, "I'm sorry. I-I was afraid. They threatened me after I protested what they were doing to the colonists at Zhu's Hope. They told me I'd be next. When the geth attacked, I thought it was an opportunity to send a message to Colonial Affairs. I tried to send them a message about the Thorian, but the power cut off before I could. Just like he said before. I-I never meant for this to happen. You have to believe me."

Naruto quickly interjected, "Don't worry. We believe you. I sort of have a built-in lie detector."

Shepard picked up that he was saying she was telling the truth, so she added, "Yeah, don't worry. We'll do what we can to help the colonists, but you need to tell us where we can find the Thorian."

Lizbeth quickly told them, "ExoGeni never specifically saw the main body, but we theorized based on the tendils we found. The main body should be right under the Zhu's Hope colony, but the entrance was blocked by the colonists with a freighter just before the geth attacked.

"We will deal with that. For now we need to get back to Zhu's Hope," Shepard replied.

The group moved forward. Lizbeth joined the others in the Mako while Naruto and Kurotsuchi stayed out. The group then moved down the platform, but the Mako stopped by the staircase to the group of survivors. The back opened and Lizbeth rushed out. Shepard and the rest soon followed, although they were calmer than Lizbeth had been.

"What is going on?" Naruto asked Shepard curiously.

"We picked up a transmission from Juliana asking for help. Jeong apparently then took the radio away before we could get more. Lizbeth demanded we check on her," Shepard answered coolly as the group moved down the stairs.

Naruto nodded as the group walked down the ramp towards where the survivors were. They saw Lizbeth hiding behind a box, eavesdropping. The group joined her. They saw that Jeong and Juliana were in the middle of an argument. Juliana declared, "You can't do this, Jeong!"

"Everyone shut up! Just let me think," Jeong ordered in a panic as he clutched his head.

Lizbeth turned to the group and asked, "What is going on?"

"You won't get away with this!" Juliana yelled before they could respond.

"Get her away from here," Jeong ordered the security guards. One grabbed Juliana who started struggling.

That caught Lizbeth's attention, as she stood up and screamed, "Get away from her, you son of a bitch!" She then ran forward before they could stop her.

Juliana used the guard's moment of distraction to break free and run to meet Lizbeth while crying out in relief, "Lizbeth."

"Damn it! Get out here where I can see you. All of you," Jeong yelled out in a panicked voice. Since the gig was up the group stood up and walked out. Jeong immediately spat out, "Shepard! Should have known I couldn't count on the geth taking care of you. I found some interesting facts about you in the ExoGeni database. I know what you did during the Blitz, but your heroics aren't needed here."

"Shut up about the Blitz," Shepard immediately snapped with anger in her voice. Naruto raised an eye, catching the flood of guilt and shame Shepard felt when the Blitz was mentioned. Shepard continued though by demanding, "Now what is the problem?"

"Communications are back up. ExoGeni wants this place purged," Jeong told them reluctantly.

"This is a human colony, Jeong. You can't just repurpose us," Lizbeth snapped indignantly.

"This isn't about you. There is something here far more valuable than a few colonists," Jeong replied coldly.

Shepard quickly added, "You're after the one unique thing Feros has. The Thorian."

"The what?" Juliana asked in confusion.

Lizbeth quickly explained, "It's a telepathic plant life form living under Zhu's Hope. It has been taking control of the colonists. ExoGeni knew all along."

"ExoGeni decided to use the people living there as living test subjects in order to study the Thorian's mind control capabilities, and now that this colony will be thoroughly investigated due to the geth presence ExoGeni has to get rid of all the evidence of what they've been doing," Naruto explained with a scowl, his anger finally ending his willingness to let Shepard handle this.

Juliana looked at Jeong and angrily stated, "You won't get away with this, Jeong."

"You keep saying that, but no one is going to miss a few humans. The Thorian is more important," Jeong replied without any care.

That cut it for Naruto. Naruto moved faster than anyone but Kurotsuchi could track. Grabbing Jeong's clothing, Naruto easily lifted him into the air as he snarled, "Shut the fuck up. ExoGeni could have studied the Thorian without using people as lab rats, but you decided to do it this way in order to save time and money."

Jeong struggled pointlessly as he answered in fear, "It's true. A few humans aren't important when compared to the potential the Thorian might allow us."

Naruto gave a vicious grin as he let Jeong drop, the man falling on his butt. Naruto then announced, "I see. If a few humans don't matter compared to the Thorian, then I suppose you won't protest becoming an experiment as well. We're heading to Zhu's Hope. How about we take you along? It will probably only take a few hours for you to get infected. I hear the Thorian conditions you through intense pain. Doesn't that sound fun?" Naruto said as he gripped Jeong's clothes and started dragging him.

Jeong struggled as he yelled, "What? Are you insane? You can't do this to me! Do you know who I am?"

"But you said that a few humans don't matter compared to the Thorian," Naruto replied with a vicious smirk down at the desperately struggling man.

"No, I won't be infected by that thing!" Jeong yelled as he pulled out a pistol from a pocket. He pointed it at Naruto's head and prepared to fire.

A shot rang out.

Naruto frowned as he dropped the limp form of Jeong. He turned to see Shepard holding her pistol. She quickly stated in a cold voice, "That is enough, Naruto!"

Naruto took a few deep breaths to calm himself before muttering, "Sorry."

Shepard sighed as she turned to look at the guards who seemed to be undecided with what to do. He quickly asked, "Do you really want to get into a gun fight with us because a dead man told you to protect him?" That caused the guards to back down. Shepard turned to Juliana and Lizbeth before saying, "We need to go handle the situation at Zhu's Hope."

"You need to save the colonists. It's not their fault that they were infected," Juliana pleaded.

"I'm not sure how we can do that. We need to find out why Saren is interested in the Thorian, but I doubt it will cooperate. It will probably use the colonists to try and keep us away," Shepard stated thoughtfully.

"If you kill the Thorian, then the colonists will probably be released," Lizbeth told them.

"That seems logical, but that doesn't make it doable. It is still going to use the colonists to keep us away," Shepard replied regretfully.

"There has to be another way," Lizbeth exclaimed desperately.

"Maybe there is," Juliana claimed softly. She then explained, "You might be able to safely use a nerve agent to neutralize the colonists. If these colonists are infected by some parasite, their nervous systems are probably weakened. We have some gas grenades here. We obviously couldn't use them against the geth. They are too weak to affect healthy humans since they are designed to take down varren, but they might be able to knock out the colonists."

"I guess it is worth a try. Give us the grenades," Shepard ordered the two. They nodded and the entire group each took several of the gas grenades. They then set off. After they reached the Mako though, Shepard stepped in front of Naruto. She then crossed her arms and informed him coldly, "That is the only time I'll let you get away with a stunt like that, Naruto. You promised to follow my orders, and I won't allow a loose cannon to undermine my authority. You are lucky I was planning on killing him anyways."

Naruto nodded regretfully before telling her, "Sorry, I just got so mad. I was reading his surface thoughts the entire time. He would have sacrificed the entire colony for a promotion without hesitation. People like him don't deserve to live. They'll only ruin the lives of those around him."

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean you can just do what you want," Shepard told him as she turned away.

Once they were all set up, they went back to the skyway. They ran into a number of geth, but the group easily handled them as they approached Zhu's Hope. When the Mako stopped in front of the door though, a gray ball uncurled to show something that looked like a gray zombie. Naruto raised an eyebrow and started shooting it with his assault rifle. It took the bullets like a champ though. Even without shields it only fell a second before his rifle overheated. Its torso was basically been torn to shreds by that point.

Naruto looked towards the Mako and yelled, "Whatever these things are, bullets don't affect them much. They aren't the colonists though. No brainwaves whatsoever. It might as well be a puppet. The Thorian is likely controlling them." Trusting that they heard, Naruto opened the garage door.

It opened to reveal at least a dozen of the Thorian creepers. The Mako's cannon started shooting at them. Leaving it to Garrus with the cannon, Naruto looked towards where he saw two colonists shooting from behind the barrier.

"Hope this works," Naruto muttered as he pulled out one of the gas grenades. He threw it with perfect accuracy right between the colonists. It exploded in a cloud of green gas. It dispersed several seconds later, but he saw the colonists wobbling before falling to the ground. He immediately fist pumped as he declared, "Oh yeah!"

The others then came out of the Mako. The group circled the colonists. Tali commented, "So it looks like the grenades work."

"Yes, so we are to save the colonists. No firing on them. Only use the gas grenades," Shepard ordered the group. They all nodded.

They then took the slow elevator down. They moved cautiously towards Zhu's Hope. As soon as they came in sight of the barricades the colonists had set up they came under fire from them. Luckily they mostly were armed with pistols. It would have been pathetically easy to finish them all, but it was slightly more difficult because they had to hit them with grenades. They still advanced quickly though, leaving a trail of unconscious colonists. After knocking out sixteen colonists, it looked like they were alone.

They then headed to the crane control panel. The freighter was apparently on top of the entrance to the Thorian. Tali quickly handled the crane to lift the freighter, revealing the staircase down. Before they could go down though Naruto signaled the group. They turned to see Fai Dan approaching slowly, looking to be going through an internal struggle.

"I-I tried to fight it, but it gets in your head. You can't imagine the pain," Fai Dan told them in a pained voice. He then continued in a seemingly determined voice, "I wassupposed to be a leader. These people trusted me. I betrayed them by not fighting it. It wants me to…stop you, but…I w-won't. I won't let this thing control me. I won't!" Fai Dan then forcefully lifted his pistol to his own head.

Naruto moved first though. Appearing in front of him, Naruto moved the pistol away as it fired. He then whispered to Fai Dan who seemed pained, "Dying doesn't fix your sins. You can only do that by living and learning from this."

"I-I can't fight it anymore," Fai Fan whimpered as his arm tried to point the pistol towards Naruto.

"Don't worry. You won't have to," Naruto told him as his other hand touched Fai Dan's temple. Naruto dived into his mind, feeling the influence of the Thorian. Naruto used the connection to infiltrate the Thorian's mind. Barely a second later though the Thorian cut the connection, thus removing Naruto.

Naruto opened his eyes to see Fai Dan had fainted. Naruto lowered the man to the ground before turning towards the group. Shepard quickly asked, "Did you remove the connection?"

"Yes, but I also managed to use it to briefly gain access to the Thorian. It broke the connection before I could take control of it," Naruto told them.

"You can take control of it?" Shepard asked curiously. When Naruto nodded, she said, "Do you think you can take control of it to stop its control of the colonists? Can you pacify it?"

"I could…but I won't," Naruto stated seriously.

"What?" Shepard exclaimed incredulously before questioning rapidly, "What do you mean?"

Naruto looked at her before explaining in a serious tone, "Because it is immoral. Forcing it to do something simply out of convenience. I don't control people, Shepard. The Thorian considers all animals to be tools for its own use. It provided Saren with information due to what Saren was offering, but Saren's betrayal of it ruined all chance we had of trading with it. If I made it do what I wanted I would be doing the same thing that it is doing to the colonists. I refuse to do that. I won't do it even if you order me to. That is a line I won't cross, Shepard."

Shepard looked angry, but eventually sighed. She then replied, "Alright, you have a point. I can't force you to enslave the Thorian."

"Thank you, Shepard," Naruto exclaimed with a grateful smile. He then added, "I did manage to get some information from it. As I said before, it traded information to Saren. The Thorian was alive back when the protheans still lived. It studied them. Saren needed this understanding of the protheans in order to understand the prothean vision from the beacon."

"The cipher," Shepard stated with a grin appearing on her face.

"Yes," Naruto said, matching her grin. He then continued, "Saren offered the Thorian an asari commando in exchange for the information. The asari melded with the Thorian to gain the cipher, and then melded with Saren to pass it on to him. The asari was then absorbed by the Thorian. I could forcefully take the cipher from the Thorian, but it would be a difficult process. It is quite strong mentally due to how old it is. However if we kill the Thorian, then the asari will be released. We can gain the cipher from her."

Shepard nodded in understanding. She then asked hesitantly, "Are you sure we can't negotiate with the Thorian?"

Naruto shook his head as he explained, "Not a chance. Saren ruined that possibility, but even before then it wouldn't release the colonists. It views them as its property. Killing it is the only way to release them."

Shepard sighed, but nodded in acceptance. She turned to the group and told them, "Alright. We'll be eliminating the Thorian."

The group then started down the stairs. After going down at least ten flights of stairs, they reached a corridor. As they walked down the hallway, Kaidan said, "So now we just need to find the…what is…that thing?"

"That is one ugly ass plant," Naruto commented as he looked at the main body of the Thorian.

It looked like a giant mass of grayish flesh. It was being held in the air by tendrils. It even seemed to have a face. It had several indents that looked like where eyes and nostrils could fit, and its mouth was an opening surrounded by tentacles. It had a constant stream of drool leaving the mouth.

It seemed aware of their presence. It seemed to grunt a few times before feet appeared in its mouth. An asari then fell out it the opening. The asari landed on a knee, but quickly straightened. The asari was an unhealthy green color that didn't fit with any asari Shepard had seen.

The asari then spoke in a dead sounding voice, "Invaders. Your every step is a transgression. A thousand feelers appraise you as meat, good only for digging and decomposing. I speak for the Old Growth. It commands you that you be in awe!"

"See. It considers us insignificant. It is just as likely to make a deal with us as we would to make a deal with a tree," Naruto stated as he looked at the asari.

The asari look at Naruto before uttering, "Abomination! You who steal the Old Growth's thralls and dare to challenge it. The Old Growth shall not tolerate such arrogance from meat such as you."

"That really hurt," Naruto replied flippantly with a shrug. He then grew serious as he continued, "You already know how this is to end. You felt my mind just as I felt yours. I cannot stand by while you enslave people."

"Fool! Your arrogance amuses the Old Growth. The Old Growth is part of this world, extending through the land and back through the ages. You can no more kill it thanyou can cut the sky," the asari said before reaching for her gun.

Naruto beat her though, stabbing her through the stomach with Kiba before he whispered in her ear, "It is not arrogance. With my power, even cutting the sky is possible." He then withdrew Kiba, allowing the asari to collapse.

Several thorian creepers appeared around the corner. The group took them out, although it was quite difficult since bullets didn't seem to bother them much. Once they were all down, Shepard yelled, "We need to take this thing out quickly."

"Got it, Shepard. You guys hold this position. I'll handle big and ugly," Naruto called out. Shepard nodded, and the group set up to weather the approaching rush of creepers. Naruto turned back to the Thorian. Waving his hand, Naruto said, "Chidori Senbon." A hail of senbon shaped lightning flew to collide with the Thorian. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to have much effect. They just sunk in slightly before stopping. Frowning, Naruto tried a Chidori Eiso, but the blade only sunk in half a foot or so.

Naruto looked at the chamber they were in. He couldn't use any jutsu powerful enough to finish such a massive creature in here without risking the entire place falling apart and burying them. Deciding to get close, Naruto jumped onto the Thorian's main body. It wiggled somewhat, but Naruto remained sticking to it with chakra. Lifting Kiba, Naruto brought the two blades down onto one of the Thorian's tentacles. To his shock, they only sunk in a few inches. He then saw the electricity usually flowing through Kiba was gone, and he realized. It was a plant. It was just grounding the lightning.

Naruto sealed away Kiba since it was basically useless now. Since you can't flow chakra through Samehada, Naruto unsealed one of his chakra conductive kunai. He then channeled wind natured chakra flow through it, sharpening it and lengthening it to the length of a short sword. He then slashed the tentacle with it, and was gratified to see it cut a two foot deep cut in the tentacle. Not as much as he expected, but good enough. This thing was tough, almost like cutting through a steel pillar. There were no doubt weak points, but Naruto really didn't want to have to search for them.

It took three more swings of the kunai to cut the tentacle, drawing a muted roar from the Thorian. Naruto used this opportunity to access how the group was doing. Kurotsuchi and Tali were using their shotguns to hold the thorian creepers off while Shepard, Garrus, and Kaidan fired into the masses from a distance. Kurotsuchi was holding her side due to her occasional use of a jutsu, but Tali was about to be overrun.

Naruto unsealed a regular kunai that had an explosive seal around the handle. He tossed it into the mass pressing towards Tali, with the explosion providing her with a few seconds reprieve. Naruto looked towards the next tentacle. Deciding that the kunai was taking too long, Naruto unsealed a large fuma shuriken. He spun it in his hand while breathing wind natured chakra onto it, soon turning it into a revolving disk of death. He then chucked it at the tentacle. It cut right through, embedding in the wall afterwards. The Thorian roared again.

Naruto used chakra strings to pull the fuma shuriken back to his hand, but his shields popped up to block a sniper shot before he could throw it again. He moved to put one of the tentacles between him and the sniper. He then looked to see Garrus reloading his sniper rifle. Naruto yelled out, "Garrus! Help me out. Sniper at one o'clock."

Garrus nodded and took an aim. A second later a shot rang out. Another followed, and Garrus then nodded towards Naruto to signal the sniper was down. Naruto waved at him in appreciation before facing another tentacle.

One throw later and the tentacle was cut. This one seemed to be the final one though. The last tentacle on that side snapped, sending the Thorian and Naruto flying into one of the walls. The Thorian roared as its tentacles strained and slowly tore. Naruto managed to grip a hand to the wall with chakra right before the rest of the Thorian's tentacles snapped. It plummeted into the deep hole. A deep thud several seconds later showed when it landed. The remaining thorian creepers fell like puppets with their strings cut.

Sensing heightening brain waves, Naruto yelled to Shepard, "Hey, Shepard. The asari is on the fourth floor. Come up." Naruto then hopped up the walls.

Shepard arrived a minute later to see Naruto softly rubbing the back of an asari, a broken pod on the wall behind them. Shepard immediately asked, "Is she okay?"

Naruto nodded and answered, "Yeah, just disorientated."

The asari soon recovered. As she stood, the group saw that it was the asari that had talked to them before. Her skin was a light violet color now. She then exclaimed with slight disbelief, "I'm free. I'm really free. I suppose I should thank you all for freeing me."

"You can thank us by telling us everything you know about Saren," Shepard replied seriously.

The asari nodded and started to explain, "My name is Shiala. I serve-I served Matriarch Benezia. When she allied herself with Saren, so did I. Benezia saw the influence and power Saren had. She joined him in the hope that she could guide him down a gentler path, but Saren is compelling. Benezia lost her way. Saren has a vessel. An enormous dreadnought unlike anything I've ever seen. He calls it 'Sovereign.' It can dominate the minds of his followers. They become indoctrinated to Saren's will. It is subtle. It can take days or even weeks, but in the end it is absolute. I was a willing slave when Saren brought me to this world. He needed my biotics to communicate with the Thorian. To learn its secrets. Saren offered me in trade. I was to secure an alliance with the Thorian."

Shepard immediately commented, "Saren was pretty quick to betray his own people."

"He was quick to betray the Thorian too. I sensed what happened after I was absorbed by the Thorian. After he obtained what he wanted, Saren ordered the geth to destroy all evidence of his being here. Including the Thorian. He knows you are searching for the Conduit, and will need the Cipher to understand the prothean vision. So he attacked the Thorian to prevent you from gaining it.

"Smart. Immoral, but still smart," Shepard remarked.

"Yes, Saren is many things, but a fool he is not," Shiala told them.

"I need that cipher in order to stop Saren," Shepard declared seriously.

"I can transfer it to you through a melding. It is the least I can do," Shiala responded.

"Hold on for now. We should first discuss this mind control Saren has. You called it indoctrination?" Naruto interrupted.

Shiala looked at him and nodded before clarifying, "Yes, I heard Saren call it that once. It is confusing to explain. You go to Saren sure of yourself, but as you stay around him and Sovereign you start to change. It is very subtle. You don't even realize it till it is too late. You find yourself a completely different person. We became slaves to Saren's will. We would listen to him talk and smile, even if we believed completely different just weeks before. Even now I can feel the compulsion in my mind, but it is muted. I believe the Thorian must have overridden it when I was part of it."

"As I suspected. Saren is capable of controlling people. That is why Benezia's behavior doesn't match," Naruto stated with a sigh.

"Benezia is an asari matriarch. They are considered the strongest beings in the universe, with incredible mental discipline and biotic abilities. If Saren can control one, then that is very bad news," Kaiden added in a worried voice.

"We'll have to discuss this later," Shepard told them, although Naruto saw the worry in her eyes as well. She turned back to Shiala and claimed, "Okay, I need the cipher."

Shiala nodded and approached till she stood face to face with Shepard. She then started speaking in a soft and soothing tone, "Try to relax, commander. Slow, deep breaths. Let go of your physical self. Reach out to grasp the strings that connect us, one to another. Every idea sends ripples across the galaxy. Every idea must touch another mind to live. Every emotion must mark another's spirit. We are all connected. Every living being united in a single, glorious existence. Open yourself to the universe, commander. Embrace eternity." She ended by touching her palms to Shepard's face as her eyes turned black.

The group watched as the two froze for several seconds before they broke apart. Shepard took several deep breaths. She finally muttered to herself, "That was…That was- It made no sense."

Shiala straightened and claimed, "I have given you the cipher, just as I gave it to Saren. The ancestral memories are a part of you, Shepard. You have been given a great gift, commander. The experiences of an entire species. It will take time for your mind to properly assimilate all that information. I'm sorry if it is difficult, but you needed the cipher. It will eventually help you understand the vision you received from the beacon."

Shepard nodded before asking, "Alright, but what do you plan to do now that you are free from the Thorian?"

"I am…unsure," Shiala admitted with a bit of a quaver in her voice before continuing, "I had been planning on staying here with the colonists in an attempt to repay them for my part in their suffering, but I saw your memories when we melded. You saved them all. I now believe they can recover on their own. I might simply be an uncomfortable reminder of their suffering."

"I believe they would welcome any assistance you could provide," Shepard replied before adding, "However I would also be willing to welcome you onboard the Normandy. I need all the help I can get if we are to stop Saren. Not only do you have information to offer, but you are an asari commando. You'd be a great help."

Shiala hesitated before replying, "I thank you for the offer, but I admit to still being unsure. May I have time to consider? I still feel slightly…off from the Thorian's remaining influence."

Shepard nodded and answered, "Of course you can. It is your choice, and anyone who joins me must be absolutely sure."

"Thank you, commander. May fortune smile upon you," Shiala invoked in gratitude.

The group then turned and started to walk away. Naruto quickly made his way next to Shiala and asked, "Excuse me, Shiala. Do you believe you can allow me to access the cipher?"

Shiala looked at Naruto with a raised eyebrow before responding, "Of course, but may we please delay it for a while. The melding can be exhausting, even to me."

Naruto just smiled before explaining, "No need. You don't need to meld with me. I am a telepath. I can access your mind myself."

Shiala blinked in shock before questioning, "Really? I've never heard of anyone other than asari being able to do something like this."

"That is a long story. Let's just say I'm not a human. So what do you say?" Naruto replied with a smirk.

Shiala eagerly nodded before replying, "Of course. I admit to being eager to witness this ability of yours."

Naruto nodded and informed her, "I just need to make skin contact. It should only take a second. If you can bring the cipher to the forefront of your mind then it will make this easier."

Naruto then touched her cheek with his hand as he entered her mind. Shiala immediately let out a silent scream as her eyes rolled back in her head. Naruto immediately recoiled and withdrew himself from the immense reaction he gained. He then had to catch Shiala's limp body as she went limp. He quickly confirmed she was unconscious.

"Keelah, what just happened?" Tali questioned as the group looked at Naruto.

Naruto looked at them with wide eyes as he claimed honestly, "I have no idea. I went into her mind, and her mind lit up with…ecstasy. I mean like more pleasure than I've ever sensed before."

The group blinked in shock at his words. Kaidan tilted his head before saying, "I've got an idea. The asari have sex by melding their nervous systems with someone else's, right? This is how they meld minds and exchange memories. They can also derive pleasure from it, right? Well if Naruto is able to do his own form of melding nervous systems through his telepathy, wouldn't doing so possibly cause them pleasure?"

Garrus then added, "And we heard that shinobi have highly advanced and powerful nervous systems. Naruto more so than anyone else. He apparently has hundreds of times more electricity running through his nervous system. If we assume then that the pleasure derived by asari during meldings is proportional to the amount of energy in their partner's nervous system, then melding with Naruto would cause like…"

"Keelah," Tali muttered as she realized.

Kurotsuchi then muttered in an irritated voice, "Then it is practically an orgasm times a hundred. Asari nirvana."

The entire group sweat dropped at that. Seems Naruto could cause an asari untold of pleasure just by touching them if he wanted to. He turned to Shepard and stated, "I think I'll just take the cipher from your mind."

Shepard just nodded while massaging the bridge of her nose. She then replied, "Alright, since I really doubt it would be healthy for Shiala to go through that for long. We can do it later. For now carry Shiala."

Naruto nodded and lifted Shiala over his shoulder as the group moved on.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The group faced Juliana, Lizbeth, and Fai Dan. Juliana was supporting a tired looking Fai Dan. Juliana then declared, "I still can hardly believe all that had happened."

Shepard nodded before saying sympathetically, "I can sympathize. Your whole world has been turned upside down. What do you plan on doing now?"

Fai Dan was the one who answered, "You've given us a second chance, commander. ExoGeni might withdraw their support, but we built this colony and made it our home. We won't abandon it. We'll survive."

"Good to hear. I hope it turns out well. We'll stay docked here for a bit," Shepard informed them.

The group then started to move away, but Fai Dan called out, "Naruto…Thank you. I'm going to make up for my failings in this whole situation. Thank you for giving me the chance."

Naruto looked at him with the still limp Shiala over his shoulder. He used his other hand to give him a thumbs up as he declared, "It was my pleasure. Just remember that you can do great things as long as you don't give up. I expect to be hearing about this colony thriving in a few years. Don't disappoint me."

"You got it," Fai Dan replied with a smile.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The group then headed towards the Normandy.

The entire group sat in the comm/conference room. Liara quickly asked, "Commander? You look…pale. Are you suffering any ill effects from the cipher?"

Shepard hesitantly admitted, "The cipher has shaken me up a bit."

"I might be able to help you. I am an expert on the protheans. Maybe if I join my conscience to yours, we could make sense of it," Liara stated, admirably hiding the eagerness Naruto sensed from her. No doubt she was salivating at the thought of gaining the cipher due to her study of the protheans. Understanding them better no doubt appealed to her greatly.

Shepard thought for a moment before reluctantly nodding and saying, "Do it. We can then have Naruto take it from my mind as well, since he can't take it from you or Shiala." Liara looked away from Naruto in embarrassment, she had heard about their theory on Naruto melding with the asari when they had dropped Shiala off at their medical base. Naturally the thought was embarrassing and slightly arousing to her.

Ashley quickly interrupted by questioning, "Do you really think that is a good idea, commander? You already look exhausted enough."

"We don't really have a choice. Figuring out this vision is of paramount importance. We need to do whatever we can to help that process," Shepard snapped in slight irritation, showing how exhausted she really was. Ashley backed down though.

Liara quickly melded with Shepard. The two then broke apart after several seconds. Liara sat down in her seat, breathing heavily from the experience. Melding was really difficult for her it seemed, likely since this was apparently only her second time doing it. Naruto took the opportunity to take the cipher from Shepard as well. He did it as quickly as possible, but Shepard still was clearly fatigued once he finished. She sat back down heavily.

"That was incredible! All this time. All my research. Yet I never dreamed…I'm sorry. The images were so vivid. I never imagined the experience would be so intense. You are remarkably strong willed commander. What you've been through and seen…It would have destroyed a lesser mind," Liara announced to the group.

"Well, did you see anything?" Kaidan questioned.

Naruto and Liara met eyes, and silent communication passed through them. Liara quickly announced, "The beacon must have been badly damaged. Parts of the vision are missing. We were able to figure out the parts that were there, but it is still incomplete. Saren must have another beacon. If we can find the missing parts, I can-whoa!" Liara cut off when she started wobbling unsteadily. She then added, "I'm sorry. The joining is…exhausting. I can't do anymore right now, so I'll go to the medical bay and lie down."

Shepard nodded and told the group, "We're done here. Dismissed." The group started dispersing at that.

Joker's voice soon appeared over the intercom, "I've sent off the Feros report, commander. Do you want me to patch you through to the council?"

"Patch them through, Joker," Shepard answered immediately. Naruto walked to her side. She nodded at him, permitting his presence.

"Patching them though now, commander," Joker announced.

The three holograms of the councilors appeared. Tevos was the first to speak, "Commander, ExoGeni should have told us about the Thorian. It would have made your job much easier."

Valern then added, "It is a shame though that you destroyed it. Capturing it would have been an excellent opportunity to study it." Valern ended by looking at Naruto.

Naruto grimaced as he declared, "I won't enslave a sentient creature like that, honored councilor."

Valern quickly protested, "But killing it is such a waste. Is morality really that important to you?"

"So you wouldn't care if I took control of a salarian, maybe even yourself?" Naruto questioned. Valern didn't reply, so Naruto explained fiercely, "It doesn't matter whatit was. It had sentience, and thus it had the right to choose its own path. It chose to act as it did. Taking away that right is simply wrong. It is not an ability is use simply for convenience, honored councilor. Only necessity."

Valern sighed, but nodded and he commented, "I suppose you are right. Such an ability is to be used as sparsely as possible."

Naruto nodded, but then informed him, "Study of the Thorian isn't impossible though, even with it dead. I'm sure you can gain many quality samples of its body and DNA before it starts to decompose. Your scientists could easily use Zhu's Hope as a gathering force for the remains. The only thing we lost is the chance to study its intellect and personality, and considering it viewed people as animals as 'meat' trying to do such would simply put anyone around it in danger."

"Yes, that is true. Either way, I'll make sure a science team is sent with Zhu's Hope as the staging point," Valern admitted thoughtfully. Naruto did a jig in his head. Hopefully this would help the colony somewhat if ExoGeni pulled their support.

"So perhaps this turned out for the best. At least the colony was saved," Tevos commented diplomatically.

Sparatus quickly interjected, "Of course it was saved. Shepard would go to any lengths to save a human colony."

Shepard looked slightly affronted at the insult, but Naruto retorted before she could, "It isn't about it being a human colony. It was just a colony. It is our responsibility to save anyone we can."

Sparatus looked slightly annoyed, but Tevos interrupted before an argument could break out, "That is true, but please remember that stopping Saren is your primary goal. While we don't disapprove of your…extra efforts, many more people will be hurt if Saren isn't stopped."

Shepard nodded and stated, "I understand."

"Now there are a few more issues we need to discuss. Firstly, this Shiala. What is her current status?" Tevos questioned.

Shepard straightened as she replied, "She is currently resting in our medical bay."

"I'm surprised you kept her alive. It even states you offered her a position on your crew. I hope you know what you are doing. She did work with Saren, after all," Sparatus remarked in a scathing voice.

Shepard kept her cool though and replied crisply, "That is exactly why I offered her the position. She has information that could possibly help us. Even if she doesn't join my crew, I hope to learn more from her before she leaves."

"Can you trust her though?" Valern questioned.

Naruto answered that by claiming, "She feels genuine regret over her previous actions and gratitude towards us for freeing her. Her distaste for Saren is also true. I'm sure she has no plans to betray us."

The councilors weighed his words, considering his abilities and his trustworthiness. Tevos finally told them, "We'll leave it to the commander to decide."

Naruto now announced, "We should also talk about this 'indoctrination' process Saren has."

"Yes, we read about it in the report. I admit I am skeptical about it. Seems unlikely that Saren had developed a method of control like that. Mind control has always been thought impossible," Sparatus claimed.

"The Thorian managed it. Who's to say Saren can't do the same?" Shepard pointed out reasonably.

"If it is true, then Saren is an even bigger threat than we realized. This simply makes your mission all the more important," Valern stated.

Naruto nodded, but explained, "I understand that, but I brought it up for one point specifically. Matriarch Benezia. Shiala claims that Benezia is also indoctrinated. If we encounter her, I might be able to remove the influence Saren has over her. I simply wanted to know what you wanted me to do."

The councilors stayed silent for several moments. They looked at each other before Tevos answered reluctantly, "Benezia is an influential person in the galaxy, even considering her association with Saren. She is too powerful a tool for Saren to be able to wield. We would appreciate her being freed, but if it jeopardizes the mission then you shouldn't hesitate to kill her."

Naruto nodded and then declared in a determined voice, "Then I shall save her. If she is a victim, then I shall ensure that she is rescued."

The councilors stared at him for several moments. Sparatus then spoke, "As long as it does not jeopardize the mission." They all no doubt saw the resolve on his face, and knew it was useless to try and convince him away from that goal.

Tevos turned to Shepard and claimed, "We will be awaiting your next report, commander."

"We'll stay here for a bit longer, but unless another lead pops up on Saren we'll soon be heading to the Citadel for supplies," Shepard announced. The councilors nodded before their holograms flicked out of existence. Shepard immediately groaned out, "I need to sleep. My head is hurting. If anyone wakes me up within ten hours I'll give them latrine cleaning duties for a week."

**Omake: Naruto drunk? That is just asking for trouble!…part 3.**

Kurotsuchi had to force herself not to step back when Naruto approached her with a weird grin on his face and his hands making squeezing motions. She questioned anxiously, "What are you planning, Naruto? You were yelling for me all over the ship and were just telling Samui and Mabui to do perverted things."

Naruto just grinned as he replied, "Oh nothing. I'm just gathering the underwear of all the hot women on board in order to hang them from a pole over my tent. That way I am properly showing my dominance over them all, and your set will be the centerpiece, Kuro-chan."

"Like hell you will!" Kurotsuchi yelled in an enraged voice. She then continued, "You'll be doing that over my dead body."

Naruto just tilted his head with a grin as he stated, "There isn't much you can do to stop me though, Kuro-chan."

Kurotsuchi growled, but couldn't really deny it. In a straight up fight she didn't stand a chance. That didn't mean she wasn't going to try though. She released some of her chakra and growled out, "Watch me."

Naruto just smiled and released a bit of his own chakra to match hers. The two then started increasing the amount they were releasing like a contest. Soon the entire ship started to vibrate from the pure power in the air.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Uh, commander. Can you do something? The ship can't really handle any more of their dick sizing contest," Joker stated over the intercom in Shepard room.

Shepard meanwhile was curled up in her bed, covers pulled up over her body and holding a pillow over her head to block out everything. She also kept repeating to herself, "If I don't hear or see them, then they aren't there. If they aren't there, then it isn't my responsibility to try and stop them. If I don't hear or see them, then they aren't there. If they aren't there, then it isn't my responsibility to try and stop them."

Joker sweat dropped when he heard the mutterings of the commander.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Naruto still had a grin on his face as he commented, "I really doubt the ship can take much more of this, Kuro-chan." The two were by now releasing so much chakra that is was visible to the naked eye.

Kurotsuchi looked around. The ship was actually shaking. Most of the people still around were cowering on the floor, the pressure of their chakras being too much for them. If they released even more chakra, and Naruto still had a butt load of chakra left, then the ship might simply break apart. Kurotsuchi had no desire to be spaced either. It sounded really dangerous.

Knowing Naruto clearly wasn't in a proper state of mind to make the reasonable choice, Kurotsuchi had to. Her shoulders slumped and she announced, "Alright. I give up. You can have my underwear."

"Really? Cool!" Naruto exclaimed with a smile as he approached.

When he got close enough though, a vicious grin appeared on Kurotsuchi's face. She then screamed, "Like hell I'd say that!" At the same time her right leg came up and landed a chakra enhanced kick straight between Naruto's legs.

Her victorious grin disappeared though when the pained Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving her momentarily unbalanced with a leg in the air. During that moment she felt a breeze pass her and certain pieces of her clothing disappear. Her head slowly turned to see a grinning Naruto holding her conservative white underwear.

"Good try, but I'm too awesome to fall for that," Naruto declared before he darted away.

Kurotsuchi stood frozen for several moments before she fell to her hands and knees. She then muttered with a dark cloud over her head, "He got me…The shame!"

**There it is. The finish for Feros. As you could tell, this was so much from the game that it was almost boring for me to write it. I like a good fight as much as the next guy, but I find I enjoy character development more than fight scenes. Especially Mass Effect fight scenes which are more straightforward then Naruto fight scenes. I am currently planning on having three chapters before the Noveria mission. During that time I will mainly be focusing on development between Naruto and other characters. It is a loose plan though, so it might be longer or shorter.**

**The Shiala development is something I came up with as I wrote the talk scene with her. Just popped out of nowhere. I haven't decided whether to have her aboard the Normandy or keep her at Zhu's Hope. I'll be putting a poll up with three choices so you guys can vote. Stay on Normandy and become an actual squad member(go on the missions), stay on the Normandy and just be on it(just a few talking scenes and she doesn't go on missions), or stay at Zhu's Hope. Vote for your choice. If you want to give an actual explanation to convince me, then leave it in a review.**

**The Naruto causing asari nirvana by touch thing I've been planning for a while. Just thought it would be funny. **

**While there is basically zero romance in this chapter, some people asked for a better clarification on pairings. Right now I'm definitely having Naruto romance Shepard and Liara. That will be a three way relationship. Liara will mainly be focused on Shepard, but will see Naruto as a close second. Shepard will mainly be focused on Naruto, but will accept Liara. Naruto will be focuses on both. So that is basically how their three way relationship will work. Tali, as stated at the beginning, is still a work in progress. If I am satisfied with the relationship, then she'll be with Naruto. However even if it doesn't get serious, there will still be a lighter romance going on between them. Only some sexual tension and joking between Naruto and Ashley. Right now all the Naruto girls who went to space besides Tenten and Shiho will be included. Mabui and Mei will have a little less time than the others though. So that is my current plan, but as always my muse is unpredictable. Shiala is also a possibility if she stays on the Normandy.**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Update soon.**


End file.
